
Gass_ 
Book- 



/ 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 

OF SOME OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED 

JEWISH RABBIES, 



TRANSLATIONS OF PORTIONS OF THEIR 



COMMENTARIES, 



OTHER WORKS, 



ILLUSTRATIVE INTRODUCTIONS AND 

NOTES n < 

BY SAMUEL Hf TURNER, D. D., 

PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LEARNING AND INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE, 
IN THE GEN. THEO. SEM. OF THE PROT. EP1S. CHURCH. 



J8 embark: 
STANFORD AND SWORDS, 139, BROADWAY 

1847. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 

STANFORD AND SWORDS, 

in the Clerk> Office of the District Court for the Southern District 

of New-York. 



Hobart Press. 

PRINTED BY JOHN R. M'GOWK, 
CVI. FULTON-BTRT. 



CONTENTS. 











Page 


Biographical Notice of Jarchi ...... 


17 


' ■' '-' Judah Hallevi 








23 


6 ' ' ' Aben Ezra 








31 


1 ( ' e Maimonides 








35 


' « ' ' David Kimchi . 








52 


' ' ' ' Abarbanel 








58 


' ' ' ( Saadias the Gaon 








63 


Commentary of Jarchi on Isaiah xi. 








69 


i ' Kimchi ' ' . 








76 


4 ' Aben Ezra ' ' . 








92 


Introduction to Commentary on Isaiah lii, 13 — liii 






98 


Commentary of Jarchi ' * ' e 




110 


4 4 Kimchi ' ' 4 4 




117 


4 4 Aben Ezra ' ' 4 e 




134 


Introduction to the Targum .... 




152 


Translation of the Targum . 4 ' ' 4 




160 


Introduction to Commentary on Hosea i — ii. 1 




164 


Commentary of Kimchi ' ' ' •' 






168 


Translation of the Targum 4 4 ' ' 






182 


Commentary of Saadias on Daniel ix. 24 — 27 






185 


Commentary on Particular Passages . 






191 


Extracts from the Yad of Maimonides . 






205 


JEytracte from the Moreh Nevochim of Main 


lonidf 


s 




227 



ERRATA. 

Page 37, line 9, before to read familiar. 

83, 2, for X read -J. 

96, 1, before And, read 13. 
109, 12, for ultimately, read intimately. 
112, 3, for Daniel read David. 
117, 7, for ^r read ^. 
122, 12, for ") read j. 
143, 16, before All, read 6. 
169, note * line 2, transpose the Hebrew words. 
175, line 9, transpose the Hebrew words. 



PREFACE. 



Amoxg the various benevolent enterprises of the present 
age, designed to remove the prejudices of ignorance and to 
extend the knowledge and influence of Christianity, that 
which aims at the conversion of the Jews is by no means 
the least important. It has been the unhappy fate of suc- 
cessive generations of that extraordinary people, to be 
persecuted by all other classes of religionists. Pagans, 
Mohammedans and Christians of every name, have vied 
with each other, not only in exposing the Jew to every 
species of obloquy and insult, but also in plundering his 
property, and in mutilating, incarcerating and torturing his 
body. While, in this way, the just providence of an of- 
fended God has permitted the imprecation of the forefath- 
ers to fall with heavy vengeance on the devoted heads of 
their descendants, and the blood of the holy One crucified 
on Calvary to be required of the children of his murder- 
ers, the unrighteous and wicked passions of the instru- 
ments whereby this punishment has been inflicted are hot, 
on that account, the less to be abhorred, or the persons 
themselves the less amenable to the rightful Judge of all 
the earth. Much has Christendom to deplore, and much 
to answer for, on account of its systematic oppression and- 



abuse of the descendants of him who is its own progeni- 
tor in the faith. It is time that the treatment of Abra- 
ham's children, according to the flesh, should be in accord- 
ance with the spirit and character of the religion of those 
who profess to be " blessed with faithful Abraham." And 
to the really spiritual progeny of the patriarch, it is in the 
highest degree gratifying to believe, that both in Europe 
and America God has stirred up the hearts of his faithful 
people, to desire the salvation of Israel, and to labor for 
its advancement; a consummation, which was predicted 
by the prophets, confidently expected by the apostles, and 
for which the ancient people do seem to have been most 
wonderfully at least, if not miraculously, preserved among 
their brethren of mankind. 

It must be obvious to every reflecting mind, that, in 
order to insure probable success in an object so interest- 
ing and important, it is essentially necessary to obtain 
some knowledge of the state of Judaism in the world, of 
its leading articles of religious belief, and also of the prin- 
ciples and views developed in the works of their standard 
authorities. The intelligent Christian missionary to the 
Jews will not content himself with a general acquaintance 
with his Hebrew Bible. Some knowledge of their Rab- 
binical works is indispensable, both for his own respecta- 
ble standing among them, and also that he may be able 
to develop inconsistencies with the revealed law, and 
erroneous principles, whereby prejudice is strengthened 
and religious blindness perpetuated. And here the church 
of Christ has generally been, and is now, in a very great 
degree, deficient. The writings of the learned Jews are 
sealed books to the great mass of the Christian clergy, 
and it may be presumed that this is true also of some of 
those whose ministrations are especially directed towards 



PREFACE. Vll 

their conversion. As an illustration of this remark, it 
may not be improper to mention what is stated of the 
celebrated Legh Richmond. On one occasion of his 
preaching to a crowded audience in behalf of the Jews, it 
was remarked by one of his Israelitish hearers on leaving 
the chapel, that the preacher did not understand their in- 
terpretations of the Hebrew prophets.* The firm persua- 
sion that Christians rightly cherish of the general correct- 
ness of their own exposition of the prophecies relating to 
the Messiah, should not make them indifferent to the views 
entertained by others, or neglectful of the method whereby 
these views may be known, and their frequent unsound- 
ness demonstrated. 

In harmony with these considerations, and with the 
view of facilitating, in some slight measure, an acquaint- 
ance with Jewish commentary, this little work is now pub- 
lished. The author is aware that his views of a neces- 
sary preparation for successful efforts to Christianize the 
Jews are not likely in the present day to be popular. A 
careful reading of Jewish books, and an unintermitted 
study of the Hebrew Bible, in connection with the Greek 
Testament which embodies its spiritual development, fol- 
lowed also by intelligent and earnest proclamations, prov- 
ing that Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah predicted 
by the Hebrew prophets, is quite a different thing from 
golden promises of national supremacy and aristocratic 
dignity to be enjoyed in the land of Palestine. Some in- 
dolent Jews, whose situation would probably be improved 
by almost any change, and some also of a better class, 

* I regret that I cannot verify this anecdote by referring to any 
authority, yet I am very confident of having met with it in some 
English publication. 



Vlll PREFACE. 

with warm imaginations and lively hopes, may be tempo- 
rarily influenced by such representations ; but on the 
more steady, industrious and thoughtful portion of the He- 
brew community, influences of a very different kind must 
be brought to bear. They must be made to feel that Ju- 
daism, from its very nature, could not have been intended 
for perpetuity, some of its judiciary and most of its cere- 
monial requisitions being only compatible with a peculiar 
state of societj" ; that the views of the future which it de- 
velopes have either already begun to open in the past ad- 
vent of Messiah and the progress and extent of his spiritual 
kingdom, or else are not to be hereafter expected, and conse- 
quently its prophecies are a failure ; and, that Christianity, 
not indeed as practically exhibited by the great body of its 
professed advocates, but as really existing in the system of 
our Lord and Master, and showing itself in the heavenly 
characters of its true believers, is that new covenant and law 
which God declared by his holy prophets, that in due time he 
would substitute in the place of the earlier and less perfect 
dispensation. To support such a superstructure, requires 
a foundation not only solidly laid in deep religious charac- 
ter and zeal, but also in sound Hebrew learning ; and the 
author is compelled to say, that he cannot discern, in the 
signs of the times, so far as they have come under his own 
observation, any very clear indications of its rapid pro- 
gress. Man's ever changeful theories are readily em- 
braced ; but God's holy word, which stands immutable, 
and shall so stand for ever, is locked up, even to multi- 
tudes of its expounders, in dead languages which they 
cannot undersand. 

The following Biographical Notices and Translations 
Were originally made several years ago. Considerations, 
which it is unnecessary to mention, have recently detey- 



mined the author to present them to the public. If this 
little volume should be fortunate enough to secure a pa- 
tronage, sufficient to meet the expense of its publication, 
he will immediately put to press a Glossary of Hebrew 
words not found in the Bible, and a table of the most usual 
and important abbreviations, which occur in the Rab- 
binical writings. He would wish to add the originals of 
the portions which are here offered in an English trans- 
lation ; thus presenting the Hebrew student with an appa- 
ratus, although very imperfect, to aid him somewhat in 
reading Jewish writings. He does not venture to go be- 
yond the offer of very moderate assistance, being con- 
scious that his own knowledge in this department of He- 
brew Literature, is circumscribed within very narrow 
limits. 

It is hardly necessary to inform the reader, that the 
biographies have but little claim to originality. They are 
drawn chiefly from the following sources : namely, Wolf's 
Bibliotheca Hebrsea ; Bartolocct's Bibliotheca magna 
Rabbinica ; Basnage's Histoire des Juifs depuis Jesus 
Christ jusq' a present ; Biographie Universelle ; and 
Jost's Geschichte der Israelite!! seit der Zeit der Macca- 
baer bis aufunsre Tage, History of the Israelites from the 
time of the Maccabees until the present. The account in 
this last work is by far the most complete. Some time 
after these notices were prepared, I read a biography of 
Maimonides, and other Jewish Rabbles, in the Hebrew 
Review. The author has taken his materials almost en- 
tirely from Jost, which may serve to explain the coinci- 
dence between his account and that contained in the sub- 
sequent pages. 

In preparing the Translation, I have carefully endea- 
vored to make it intelligible to the merely English reader. 



although it was absolutely necessary to introduce in seve- 
ral places the original Biblical Hebrew, particularly where 
the Jewish commentator advocates a different view from 
that presented in the English version. The meaning, 
however, is always given in our own language. Owing 
to the remarkable brevity which often characterizes these 
Rabbinical writers, a translator is frequently compelled 
to add a word or a phrase, in order to make the meaning 
clear to his readers. Such supplementary clauses are 
introduced within parentheses. While it was my aim to 
present the precise meaning of the author, I did not think 
it. necessary to make the translation more literal than the 
different idiom of the English language seemed to allow # 
For the benefit of the reader who may wish to study the 
original writer in his own language, I have generally 
given the literal meaning in notes. 

After all the care which has been bestowed on the 
translation, the amount of which I must leave to be deter- 
mined by those readers who have devoted their time and 
attention to similar pursuits, I am by no means confident 
that I have always succeeded in perceiving the exact 
meaning of the original. Corrections, suggested by com- 
petent criticism, and accompanied by satisfactory proof, 
will be gratefully acknowledged and willingly admitted ; 
but vague and general objections, proceeding from that 
class of persons to whom the Greek proverb, ' guov so-n 
l^a l u.etT6oc,i *) iA.it*ti<rGcit,'* applies, will be passed over with 
that silence which is pre-eminently their due. 

I have only to add, that, if the reader is disappointed, as 
most probably he will be, at the meagre character of 
many parts of these Rabbinical comments, I can assure 

* It is easier to ridicule than to imitate. 



him, that no part of the original has been withheld. The 
selections contain the whole exposition, given by these 
Jewish guides of interpretation, of the portions of scripture 
commented on ; and the translator must not be held re- 
sponsible for any supposed deficiency. If, however, we 
make proper allowances for national prepossessions, for 
the character of the times in which the writers lived, and 
for the influence of the circumstances which excited or 
controlled them, we shall rather be surprised at the accu- 
racy of their philological knowledge, than disappointed at 
the want of a full development of the meaning of the sa- 
cred writers. And while we must lament so strong a 
traditional bias, we cannot but admire that religious feel- 
ing which influences a considerable portion of their inter- 
pretations, and that comprehensive acquaintance with the 
text and apparent meaning of God's revelation, which 
pervades their compositions. In the concluding portions 
especially, of this volume, Christians, in general, may find 
materials for profitable reflection, and not a few readers, 
for instruction. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 



JARCHI. 



Rabbi Solomon Ben Isaac is known in Jewish 
writings by the technical word Rashi, which 
is formed by the initial letters of his title, and of 
his name, Solomon Jarchi ;* the latter being the 
real, or as many think, the fictitious name of his 
family. According to some writers, the name 
Jarchi, analogous to the Hebrew word Jareach^ the 
moon, is derived from Lunel, (luna,) a town in 
the western part of France, while others imagine 
it to have been applied to the Rabbi from his 
supposed knowledge of astronomy. Which of 
these opinions, or whether either of them is well 
founded, is doubtful, and of little moment. The 
origin of the appellation, like that of a multitude 
of others, is involved in obscurity. 

* The first letter is pronounced like y. 
2 



18 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

The exact period of Jarchi's life is also uncer- 
tain. According to the most respectable authori- 
ties, he was born in Troyes, in France, in the 
year 1030,* and lived to the age of 75, or, as 
others say, 64 years. Of his life and history very 
little is known, although much is related that is 
fabulous, particularly that he spent seven years in 
wandering about in various countries, in order to 
atone for some sin of his father. He was brought 
up under the superintendence of Rabbi Jacob 
Ben Jakar, and probably also of Rabbi Ger- 
shom, and pursued his studies in the place of his 
nativity. 

Jarchi is the author of a commentary on the 
entire Hebrew Bible. He wrote also a commen- 
tary on the Talmud, and on the Pirke Avoth ; also 
some other works, a brief notice of which maybe 
found in Wolf's Bibliotheca Hebrasa, Vol. I. pp. 
1067, 106S. The importance and extensiveness 
of his works have gained for him with posterity, 
the honor of being regarded as one of the most 
learned Jews in the departments to which he 
devoted himself; although he is certainly less 
judicious in many of his expositions than some 
others of his nation. This will appear by no 
means surprising, when it is recollected that his 
literary acquirements were very limited. Accord- 

* Basnage places his birth in the year 1105, and of course makes 
him flourish in the twelfth oentury. See Book viii. chap. xiii. sec. 
27, and Book ix. chap. x. sec. 17. 



JEWISH RABBI, JARCHI. ^9 

ing to Jost, he was unacquainted with natural 
science, history, geography, mathematics, and 
languages ; and yet so completely did he master 
the common sources of Jewish learning, the Bible, 
the Talmud, and other more recent works, as to 
make them his own, and to explain them in gene- 
ral to the satisfaction of his pupils. Other writers 
however, speak of him as being acquainted with 
ancient languages, philosophy, medicine, and as- 
tronomy. They add, also, that with the view of 
improving himself by foreign instruction, he trav- 
elled into Italy, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Persia, 
and Germany, visiting all the cities distinguished 
for Hebrew literature, interrogating the profess- 
ors, discussing with them points of difficulty, and 
noting with exactness their various replies.* Still 
he was not distinguished for extraordinary talents 
or remarkable perspicacity ; neither was he exci- 
ted by any dominant inclination to triumph in ar- 
gument over an antagonist, or to produce some- 
thing novel. His ruling desire was, to seize upon 
the simple sense of the sources of religious know- 
ledge, in the hope of illustrating their true meaning. 
With this object in view, he entered upon his la- 
borious undertaking. He endeavored to explain 
the more important passages, sometimes gram- 
matically, sometimes by paraphrasing and sup- 

* Bartolocci, Part iv., p. 378, 381- Biographie Universelle, 
Tom. 37, p. 109. Basnage calls him one of the most learned of th© 
French Rabbies. Book viii. chap. xiii. sect. 27. 



20 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

plying what was supposed to be elliptical, and 
occasionally by means of a French translation. 
His commentaries are compiled principally from 
the Chaldee Targum, the Talmud, and other 
ancient Jewish authorities, the very language of 
which is often retained. Where his predecessors 
had introduced legendary narratives, and allego- 
ries founded on certain expressions, he contented 
himself with giving the statements without exam- 
ining into their truth. Rhenferd says that Jarchi 
is by no means given to fictions, but relates with 
remarkable diligence and fidelity the opinions of 
his predecessors on the more important parts of 
scripture. By fictions, he means probably, origi- 
nal inventions ; for Jarchi abounds with Rabbini- 
cal conceits, drawn, with fidelity no doubt, from 
writers of higher antiquity. To elicit the philolo- 
gical meaning, rather than to discuss the truth of 
the results arrived at, characterizes the commen- 
taries of Jarchi, and the school of which he may 
be considered as the founder. Posterity is more 
indebted to his patience and industry, than to his 
genius or profoundness. It is the laborious ox, 
rather than the soaring eagle, to which this 
Rabbi may be compared. 

The style of this commentator is obscure, 
both on account of its conciseness and the num- 
ber of foreign words, particularly French, which 
he introduces. Wolf informs us, that Rendtorf 
of Hamburg prepared on the whole of Jarchi's 



JEWISH RABBI, JARCHI. 21 

commentary, notes and observations, which might 
serve the purpose of a lexicon and version. He 
mentions also, the commentary of Balthazar 
Scheid, as very useful in reading Jarchi, be- 
cause it contains explanations of all the foreign 
words. Vol. I. p. 1065, 1066. The commentary 
on the Pentateuch was translated into Latin by 
John Frederick Breithaupt, and published at 
Gotha, 4to, in 1710, with brief and learned notes. 
Also in 1713, the same writer published at the 
same place, in 4to, a Latin translation of the com- 
mentary on the greater and minor prophets, Job, 
and the Psalms. Other portions of Jarchi's works 
have also been translated by different persons. 



JUDAH HAL LEVI, 

Author of the Booh Cosri. 

Rabbi Judah Hallevi, (that is, the Levite,). 
Ben Samuel, a Spanish Jew of the twelfth 
century, was a man of uncommon talent. Well 
versed in Rabbinical and Arabian literature, he en- 
deavored to spread the influence of learning, and 
a knowledge of the most important truths, by 
means of poetry. As he was wealthy, his cir- 
cumstances afforded him leisure to polish his 
compositions, according to the principles of proso- 
dy then generally admitted. In the judgment of a 
nearly contemporaneous critic,* he drew largely 
from the deep treasury of poetic thought and feel- 
ing, and surpassed all the writers of his nation 
who had attempted to build the lofty verse. His 
hymns of praise are marked by force and ardor, 

* Al Charisi, about the year 1200. This writer has laid down 
fome very excellent practical rules, which poets of all periods might 
apply with advantage. They may be found in Jost's history, vol. 
vi., p. 159, 160. — Many of Judah's poems and other finished compo- 
sitions are contained in books of prayers. Bartolocci, part iii» p. 64. 



JEWISH RABBI, JUDAH HALLEVI. 23 

while the bitterest feelings of distress, irresistibly 
seizing upon the soul, rule in his elegiac poetry. 
This remarkable man was not permitted to 
die a natural death. At the age of fifty, in com- 
pliance with the practice of the times, and prompt- 
ed by an ardent desire to visit the country of his 
ancestors, he undertook a journey to the promis- 
ed land. To a poetic mind, such an enterprize 
possessed high attraction, as a view of the condi- 
tion of a country, the early history of \\ hich had 
exercised so important an influence on posterity, 
was well adapted to excite the imagination to 
strains of pensive melancholy. And in fact, the 
scenes there presented to the eye, the depopula- 
tion of a region once so densely inhabited, the 
wildness and desolation of a land formerly teem- 
ing with luxuriance, the barbarous character and 
wretched state of the inhabitants, made a strong 
impression on the mind of the poet. Standing 
beneath the walls of Jerusalem, his soul was so 
deeply afflicted with the lamentable condition of 
his people, that he rent his garments like a mourn- 
er, put off his shoes and went on barefoot, singing 
an elegy, which he had himself composed, on the 
fall of Jerusalem. A mounted Arab who was 
near him, but unobserved, made the devotion of 
the sorrowing Jew a subject of ridicule, and rous- 
ed to madness by the unhappy man's indifference 
and supposed obstinacy, he leaped upon him, and 
trampled him to death under his horse's hoofs. 



24 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

This unfortunate Rabbi is generally regarded 
as the author of the Book Cosri,* pronounced by 
the high authority of De Sacy and Labouderie,t to 
be one of the most valuable and beautiful produc- 
tions of the Jewish school. The object of this 
work was to defend the Hebrew religion against 
the objections of Christians, Mohammedans, phi- 
losophical infidels, and Karaite Jews. In order 
to make it the more attractive, the author connects 
his subject with the conversion of Bulan, a king 
of the Chasars ; or, according to the representa- 
tions of some writers, introduces a dialogue be- 
tween a king by the name of Chosar, and a cer- 
tain Rabbi, Isaac Sanguer, or Sangari, on the 
prominent points of religion. In order that the 
reader may have a clear idea of the origin and 
design of this Jewish book, it is necessary to lay 
before him some notices of this people, premising 
however, that no small portion of fable has been 
incorporated with the history. The following ac- 
count is drawn almost entirely from the history of 
Jost. 



* The authorship of this work is much disputed by writers on 
Jewish literature, some attributing it even to the king himself, 
whose attachment to Judaism it is designed to confirm. Bartolocci 
says, that Hallevi was unhesitatingly regarded as the author of the 
Book Cosri, by the most ancient Jews, but that later investigations 
have involved this matter in considerable doubt. The more general 
opinion, however is, that the work is rightly ascribed to him. See 
Wolf, Vol. iv. p. 1022. 

t See Biographie Universelle, Tome xxii. p. 101, 102. 



JEWISH RABBI, JUDAH HALLEVI. 35 

The Chosars or Chasars are represented as a 
branch of the more ancient Turkomans,* or accor- 
ding to some old accounts, of common origin with 
them. This, however, must be left as a matter im- 
possible to be settled. In very early times they in- 
habited a district of country lying on the west side of 
the Caspian, and extending as far as the Black Sea. 
They were incorporated by Attila with the na- 
tion of the Huns. Afterwards they became subject 
to the Bulgarians, but obtained their freedom, and 
made themselves so powerful as to strike terror 
into the Persians on the one side and the Greek 
Empire on the other. The Persian monarch was 
obliged to secure his country from their invasions 
by a prodigious wall, the ruins of which excite the 
travellers' astonishment even at the present day, 
and the autocrat of the Greeks found it expedient 
to court their friendship and avail himself of their 
hardy courage. Frequent alliances were formed 
with the Chakans or rulers, and their followers 
were often found among the body guard of the im- 
perial court. 

The proximity of this region of country to two 
seas, giving it at the same time the command of two 
noble rivers, the Volga and the Don, was a nat- 
ural encouragement to enterprise and navigation. 
Trade flourished, and while the merchant fleets 

* They are mentioned as "a Turkish or Tartar colony," and as 
'•'Eastern Turks," in the ancient Universal History, Book iv. chap, 
ix. and xxx. Vol. xvii. p. 21, andxx. p. 50. 8vo. Lond. 1748. 
2# 



26 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

of Persia and Greece enriched their owners with 
the productions of the people, the Chasar cities 
became places of business and wealth, and the 
splendor of the nation is said to have vied with 
that of the Califate itself. Victorious in the South 
and North, the Chasars obtained gold and silver 
from the more cultivated people, and from the 
rougher, natural productions, in the way of trib- 
ute. Encouraged by a general toleration of reli- 
gion, Jews, Christians and Musselmans settled in 
the country, intercourse was unrestrained, and 
consequently business and intellectual culture 
gradually spread, and the nation increased in 
power and in wealth. It is not to be supposed that 
the new settlers were disregarded by the rulers ; 
on the contrary, they seem to have attracted con- 
siderable notice, and their religion became of 
course the subject of attention. There is reason 
to believe that the Chakans often availed them- 
selves of the services of these foreigners, in their in- 
tercourse at the courts of the emperors and chalifs 
as well as with inferior chiefs ; and the inclination 
to make proselytes to their respective religions, for 
which both Christians and Mohammedans were dis- 
tinguished, must have been felt also in no slight de- 
gree, by the sincere Hebrew. Every favorable op- 
portunity would have been seized, in order to awa- 
ken attention and conciliate regard to the system 
of the despised and persecuted Jew. 

The supposition therefore is not so extravagant 



JEWISH RABBI, JUDAH HALLEVI. 27 

as some historians have imagined, that, in a very 
ancient period, the throne of the Chasars may- 
have been occupied by one of this nation. Certain 
writers, who, it must be confessed, however, do 
not disdain to alleviate occasionally the dryness 
of historical facts by drawing on their imagination 
for the fabulous and extraordinary, have related, 
that about the year 740, Bulan, or Bula, a wise 
Chakan or king of the Chasars, having become 
a convert to Judaism, imposed the profession of this 
faith as a necessary condition of obtaining the su- 
preme authority. A succession of Jewish Kings 
is said to have governed the nation more than two 
centuries and a half, without imposing any re- 
straint on the free exercise of religion. 

However slight an impression, says Jost, this 
Chasar Jewish monarchy may have made on the 
Eastern Jews, sunk in effeminacy, it was not regar- 
ded without interest by the learned Jews of Spain, 
who began to be distinguished as favorites of the 
court of Cordova. Hasdai Ben Isaac is said to 
have addressed a complimentary letter to one of 
the kings, named Joseph, with an introduc- 
tion in poetry, according to the taste of the age 
and people, and in due time to have received from 
the monarch a gracious answer, in which he informs 
his western correspondent, that he was the twelfth 
descendant in a regular line of succession from 
Bulan. But the authenticity of this correspon- 
dence in all probability rests on no better founda- 



23 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

tion than that of the letters, which some cred- 
ulous ecclesiastical historians ascribe to our Savior 
and Abgar, a king of Edessa. Indeed some wri- 
ters of high respectability consider the Jewish 
account of the Chasars as altogether fictitious.* 
Bartolocci, while he states that the name is of fre- 
quent occurrence in Jewish books, and that the Nu- 
bian geographer places their country on the borders 
of the Black and Caspian Seas, does not hesitate to 
employ the following very decided language. "In- 
asmuch as no geographical authority of any weight 
to my knowledge, mentions this region, nor even 
Benjamin in his Itinerary, I consider the account of 
it, as given by the Rabbins and others who have 
borrowed from them, as wholly without historical 
authority." The fictitious character of the corres- 
pondence just mentioned, and also of the colloquy 
which forms the subject of the book Cosri, is, in the 
opinion of the same very learned authority, indu- 
bitable. 

The value and importance of the book, howev- 
er, is wholly independent of the historical correct- 
ness of either the corespondence or the colloquy, 
or even of the authorship of the work. The sup- 
posed reply of the King of the Chasars sug- 
gests to the writer the plan and subject of his 
work Cosri, the name of which ( a Cosrite, ) 
denotes the nation of one of the leading par- 

* Baenage, Book ix. chap. i. sec. 4, 14. Bartolocci, Part iii. 
p. 62. 



JEWISH RABBI, JUDAH HALLEVI. 29 

ties. The book consists of five divisions. It 
contains a defence of Rabbinical Judaism against 
Philosophers, Christians, Mohammedans and Ka- 
raites. The form of the work is as follows : 
The king repeatedly hears in a dream a voice 
announcing, " thy views are good, but not so thy 
conduct." In order then to ascertain what reli- 
gion was best adapted to instruct him to do well, 
he applies in course to an Epicurean philosopher, 
a Christian and a Mohammedan. A philoso- 
phical religion, he soon perceives, must rest on ar- 
guments of mere probability, and cannotbe reduced 
to certaint}^. Christianity and Mohammedanism 
recognize the divine authority of the Jewish reli- 
gion, while they are themselves open to objections. 
Hence he concludes to attach himself to the des- 
pised people of the Jews, whose doctrines are di- 
vine and uniform, however diversified their con- 
ditions and settlements in the world.* 

In order to lead to this agreeable result, he in- 
troduces a Jew, who engages the yet doubting 
monarch in a long conversation on the subject of 
religion, in the course of which he lays before 
him a sound exposition of the Hebrew doctrines 
respecting God and the divine government of the 
world. The general sentiments contained in this 

* See Bemerkungen zum Alten Testament aus dera Buch Cosri, 
Remarks on the Old Testament from the Book Cosri, by Dr. Fr. 
Koester, in the Theologische Studien, und Kritiken for 1837, No. 
l.p. 153 ss. 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE, &c. 

work are such as may be found in some other 
Jewish productions of that period, and are design- 
ed to show that the Hebrew system of religion 
and its rites are in unison with philosophy 
and enlightened reason. The author proves 
the God of the Israelites to be the true God, the 
creator and preserver of all things. He treats 
successively, and with much eloquence, of the 
Deity, his existence, name and attributes, of the 
creation of the world and of angels ; of scripture 
and its divine authority ; of Providence, divine 
decrees, free will, the resurrection, and everlast- 
ing life ; of divine worship, prayer, idolatry ; of 
the dignity of the Jewish people, of the promised 
land, the Hebrew language and sacred poetry ; 
of the soul, its faculties and immortality ; of pro- 
phecy, the caballa and caballistic mysteries. 

This valuable w r ork of Rabbi Judah was ori- 
ginally written in Arabic, and the Hebrew now ex- 
isting is a translation, which retains very considera- 
bly the idiom of the original language. It was 
rendered into Latin by the younger Buxtorf, and 
published with notes at Basle, in 1660, 4to. In 
the preface the translator has inserted the corres- 
pondence ascribed to Hasdai and king Joseph. 
Another version of the Cosri in Spanish was 
published by Abendana, a very learned Jew, at 
Amsterdam, in 1663, whose translation, Simon 
prefers to that of Buxtorf.* 

*Biographie Universelle, Tome xxii. p. 101. 



ABEN EZRA. 

Rabbi Abraham Ben Meir Ezra* was born in 
Toledo, probably about the beginning of the 
twelfth century, and descended from one of the 
most distinguished Jewish families. He was 
nearly related to Rabbi Judah Halle vi, their 
mothers being sisters. But he must have been 
considerably younger than his distinguished cous- 
in, as he formed a still more intimate connection 
with him by marrying his daughter, a short time 
before her father made his pilgrimage to Jerusa- 
lem. He is saidf to have been indebted to his 
genius and wit for the possession of this fair and 
wealthy heiress. Her mother had so often and 
importunately solicited her husband to furnish 
their daughter with a suitable partner, that Rabbi 
Judah swore one evening (not very like a good 
father and a wise man, it must be confessed,) to 

* Or, Rabbi Abraham, son of Meir and grandson of Ezra. Aben 
is used to denote grandson. He is also called by way of distinction, 
the wise, and is designated by abbreviations, which may be seen in 
Wolf, Vol. I. p. 71. 

t I give this amusing account on the authority of Jost. 



32 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

give her to the first Jew who should offer himself 
on the following day. This was none other than 
Aben Ezra, dressed as a traveller, whose reputa- 
tion had not failed to reach the ear of the Rabbi, 
although they were personally unknown to each 
other. As might well be supposed, the mother 
was shocked at the thought of bestowing her love- 
ly daughter and only child on a youthful stranger 
so meanly apparelled, but her husband very soon 
observed that he had a young man of mind before 
him, who gave promise of ripe scholarship, and 
without hesitation admitted him into the number 
of his pupils. Aben Ezra affected ignorance, and 
employed himself in the first rudiments of knowl- 
edge, making, as may readily be supposed, rapid 
and satisfactory progress. On a certain evening 
Rabbi Judah remained unusually long in his study, 
audit was only after repeated entreaties that he was 
prevailed on to leave it for the supper table. The 
stranger's inquiries being unable to draw from 
his host the true cause of his delay, the Rabbi's 
wife went to his study and brought thence the 
fragments of a Hebrew poem which had engaged 
his attention, and which he had notbeen able to fin- 
ish to his satisfaction. Aben Ezra ran through the 
composition, made with his pen some corrections, 
and finished the whole to the great delight of his 
teacher, who, immediately on reading it, embraced 
his pupil and exclaimed, "you are certainly the 
celebrated Aben Ezra, and welcome to me as a 



JEWISH RABBI, ABEN EZRA. 33 

son-in-law !" His guest then threw off the mask, 
and the marriage was shortly after celebrated. 

A few years subsequently to this event, Aben 
Ezra made a literary tour of several countries of 
Europe. From thence he extended his journey to 
Palestine, where he had frequent communications 
with the learned men of Tiberias, on the subject 
of Masoretical text. He travelled through the Gre- 
cian islands, and resided a long time at Rhodes, 
where in 11.94* he terminated a life of seventy- 
five years, almost fifty of which had been spent 
in visiting various countries, and in preparing 
his numerous works. He wrote commentaries 
on the whole Bible, and also various other 
works, a particular account of which may be 
found in Wolf, I. p. 73-86, and in the Biog- 
raphie CJniverselle, Tom. I, p. 75. He was 
thoroughly acquainted with the Hebrew and 
Arabic tongues, conversant with the whole extent 
of Rabbinical learning, and master of the philoso- 
phy of his time. Bartolocci calls him an excel- 
lent philosopher, astronomer, physician, poet, 
grammarian, cabbalist and interpreter of scrip- 
ture. His extraordinary acquisitions are less 
worthy of admiration, than the powers of his mind. 
If the appellation, hahakim, the wise, can justly 
be applied to any Jew, it certainly belongs of pe- 
culiar right to Aben Ezra. He is generally con- 

* According to Basnage, 1174. Book ix. chap. x. sect. 3. 



34 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE, &c. 

sidered by competent judges as the most literal 
and judicious of Jewish expositors. The style of 
his works is characterized by purity, and so 
great conciseness as to occasion frequent obscuri- 
ty. He had examined the Bible with unusual 
penetration and care, availing himself of the as- 
sistance, yet not unduly biased by the authority, 
of the more ancient expositors, and he brought the 
treasures of his knowledge, and the sharpness of 
his wit, to expose erroneous interpretations, and 
to settle the correct sense. He shows an attach- 
ment to Rabbinism, although he is not without the 
liberalism of the Karaite school,* his views being 
often free, and his exposition of scripture simple 
and unaffected. During his lifetime he enjoyed 
the distinction of a most influential character, and 
the greatest scholars did not hesitate to advance 
him above all his predecessors. Maimonides, the 
most distinguished of his contemporaries, earnestly 
recommended to his own son, a careful study of 
the works of Aben Ezra, as superior to any other 
for intellectual force and solid learning. 

* Japheth Levi, a distinguished Rabbi of this school, was in 
early life one of Aben Ezra's instructors. 



MA1M0NIDES. 

With the biography of Aben Ezra is closely con- 
nected that of his contemporary, Rabbi Moses 
Ben Maimon, generally called, by the Jews, 
Rambam, (a word formed by the initials of the 
preceding designation,) and by the learned in gen- 
eral, Maimonides. This distinguished person was 
born afout the year 1139,* at Cordova, which at 
that time was subject, with a considerable portion 
of Spain, to the emperor of Morocco. His father 
was a learned Jew of that city, respectable, as 
well on account of his descent from learned an- 
cestors, as for the office of judge, which he held 
with reputation. It is said that the birth of Moses 
was the occasion of his mother's death, and he 
was on that account not favorably regarded by 
his surviving parent. His deceased wife, the 
daughter of a butcher, was of a station in life very 
inferior to that of her husband, and, as soon after 

" This statement is found at the end of his commentary on the 
Mishn h, in the Neapolitan edition of 1492." Mendelssohn's Je- 
rusalem, Vol. ii. p. 291. Lond. 1S38. 



36 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

her death, he married a woman of higher rank, 
it has been thought that the son of the former 
wife was considered by his father as a permanent 
reproach on him for having formed such a con- 
nection, and consequently regarded with aversion. 
Whether the judge was influenced by feelings so 
unworthy and unnatural, or not, is uncertain. 
The boy's dullness, however, notwithstanding all 
the efforts made to instruct him, either increased 
or produced the father's dislike. On occasion of 
some ill usage, the son left his parental home, and 
was probably received into some other Jewish 
family. After having devoted himself in Lucena 
to the study of the Talmud, and arrived at the 
age of manhood, he returned to Cordova, and, 
avoiding his father's house, made himself known 
to some of his friends. Through their influence, 
permission was granted him to deliver a discourse 
in the synagogue. While every one listened in 
astonishment to the youthful instructor, Rabbi 
Maimon, with no little surprise, recognized his 
own son, embraced him, and with parental affec- 
tion welcomed him to his home. Under his fa- # 
ther's guidance the young Moses continued to 
prosecute his rabbinical studies, but his acquaint- 
ance with Arabic, astronomy, mathematics and 
medicine, was formed in the school of the famous 
Averroes, with the learned Arabians Ebn Tophail 
and Ebn Saig as his companions. 

It would be inconsistent with the intended 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 37 

brevity of this notice, to enter into any biographi- 
cal details of the life and character of Averroes, 
otherwise known by the title of Abdallah Moham- 
med Ebn Omar Ebn Roshd. The erudition and 
profound abilities which distinguished him, the 
dignities to which he was advanced, and the per- 
secutions he was obliged to sustain in consequence 
of the charge of having abandoned the Moslem 
faith for natural religion, are matters of history to 
every reader.* In the inquisitive character of his 
mind, not sufficiently checked, it may be, by a 
right appreciation of the necessity of divine reve- 
lation to ascertain and establish religious truth, 
Maimonides most probably found a congeniality 
with his own. A freedom of thought, worthy of 
all praise when restrained within proper limits, 
marks the productions of this learned Jew. He 
felt the fetters of Rabbinism, and struggled to set 
himself free, not with the view of overturning the 
Jewish system, but in the hope of showing that 
its principles were in harmony with the soundest 
philosophy. 

For this purpose he began, as early as the 
twenty-third year of his age, to prepare an expo- 
sition of the Mishna in the Arabic language, and 
completed it in seven years. The attempt made 
in this work to settle and explain the principles 

* It has been said, that Maimonides himself abjured for a time 
his religion, and professed Mohammedanism, See Basnage, Book 
ix. chap. x. sect. 7. 



38 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

of particular laws on the ground of reason, inde- 
pendently of the logomachies and appendages of 
the Gemara, and the author's known intimacy 
with Averroes, whose philosophical doctrines he 
had imbibed, were quite sufficient to subject him 
to the charge of heresy, and to oblige him to seek 
refuge in flight from the narrow, persecuting spirit 
of the times, aided as it probably then was, and 
as such a spirit has generally been, by personal 
or political considerations. Maimonides settled 
in Cairo, whence he derived the surname of the 
Egyptian, and there in the favor, and under the 
protection, of the celebrated Saladin, he prosecut- 
ed his various literary undertakings. Of these, 
the principal is his work on the Jewish law ac- 
cording to the Talmud, well known under the 
names of Yad chazaJcah, and Mishneh Thorah. 
The latter title describes it as a repetition of the 
law, a sort of Deuteronomy, and the former, mean- 
ing strong ha?id, was probably chosen to denote its 
supposed importance, and also the circumstance 
of its being comprehended within fourteen books,* 
the subdivisions of its four great parts. Untiring 
industry, united with profound knowledge of the 
subject, produced this work, which was hardly to 

* Wolf thinks that this title is also in allusion to the last verse 
of Deuteronomy, — " In all that strong hand, which Moses showed." 
The reader may compare also Isaiah viii. 11, where strength of 
hand is used for powerful divine impulse, producing important in- 
struction. The two Hebrew letters of the word Yad, hand, denote 
14. 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 39 

have been expected from a man who had pursued 
a course so independent of Talmudic influence. 
The author had it in view to put an end to that su- 
perficial knowledge to which the weak poetic ef- 
fusions of the times had given rise. Experience 
has shown, that, under the auspices of such helps 
true learning degenerates, as industry is neither 
excited nor exercised ; and by the easy use of 
such assistance, each smatterer obtains a certain 
general view, which, either in his own eye, or 
of those of others, places him on a level with the 
thorough scholar. It was the intention of Mai- 
monides, that every Jew acquainted with the He- 
brew language, should know what Judaism com- 
manded ; and that he should be able to see the 
whole subject distinctly, not in the pale glimmer 
of jingling verses, but in the broad bright clear- 
ness of historical light and fundamental know- 
ledge of principles and causes. After an unre- 
mitted attention of at least eight years, the great 
work was finished ; and, as it soon became ex- 
tensively known in the Jewish community, it rais- 
ed the name of the Egyptian Moses to the highest 
celebrity.* The most distinguished scholars pro- 

* " From Moses to Moses none arose like to Moses," became a 
sort of proverbial witticism among the Jews. A particular account 
of the Yad and its several editions, may be found in Wolf, Vol. i. 
pp. 840-855 ; iii. pp. 774-779 In 1832, Heman Hedwig Ber- 
nard published at Cambridge selections from it in Hebrew and Eng- 
lish, with explanatory notes, and a glossary of particles and technical 
terms, with a view of exhibiting the creeds and ethics of the Jews, 



40 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

posed questions to him for solution, and his opin- 
ions were generally regarded as decisive. 

The Yad of the Moses, second only, in Jew- 
ish estimation, to his great namesake, abounds 
with passages which might be adduced in illus- 
tration of holy scripture, both as to sentiment and 
language. In his admirable treatise on the tem- 
per and dispositions, it would seem that the mind 
of the Jewish Rabbi occasionally rested on some 
of the beautiful parables of the heavenly Teacher 
himself, or on that simple yet touching language, 
which embodies the sacred and spiritual motives 
whereby his inspired followers urged conformity 
to the divine character. But it is well known that 
several of the earlier Jewish productions are re- 
plete with the soundest moral precepts, and with 
beautiful illustrations of religious truth, inter- 
mingled, it is true, with much of imperfection and 
error, and certainly by no means free from absurd- 
ity, which occasionally becomes ridiculous. But 
what Christian can fail to recognize the true 
spiritual import of the law of Moses in the senti- 
ments that follow ? " We are commanded to 
walk in the way of the good and of the righteous, 
for it is said, and thou shalt walk in his ways." 
(Deut. xxviii. 9.) " Thus they" (meaning the 
ancients,) "have taught, by way of explaining 
this commandment : as He is called gracious, so be 

8vo. The student will find this work very useful in facilitating the 
acquisition of Rabbinical Hebrew. 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 44 

thou also gracious ; as He is called merciful, so be 
thou also merciful ; as He is called holy, so be thou 
also holy.'''' * How strikingly in accordance with 
the language of the Saviour : " Be ye therefore per- 
feet, he ye therefore merciful, even as your Father in 
heaven is perfect, is merciful;" and with that of 
his apostle, " As He who hath called you is holy, so 
be ye holy in all manner of conversation."^ 

The ancient advocates, whether Christian or 
Jewish, of an earthly and carnal millennium, 
might have learned to correct their fond conceit, 
if they had adopted the truer principle of expo- 
sition, developed briefly, but clearly, in the writ- 
ings of Maimonides. He discards the literal in- 
terpretation of several texts, which, both in ancient 
and modern times, have been supposed to favor 
the error ; and maintains, in harmony with the 
figurative style which characterizes the prophetic 
writing, and also in accordance with the expo- 
sition of some of the earlier Rabbins, the more 
elevated meaning of a future state of happiness in 
the heavenly kingdom of the Messiah. I quote 
one of several passages, as it illustrates the inter- 
mingling of the important and the trifling, which 
so frequently marks the character of Jewish pro- 
ductions. " With regard to the intermediate man," 
(that is, the person whose good and evil deeds 

* Precepts relating to the Temper, chap. i. sect. 10. pp. 155, 156*. 
Bernard's Translation. 

t Matt. v. 48. Luke vi. 36. 1 Peter i.15. 

3 



42 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

are equally balanced,) "if, among that half, (of 
his actions,) which includes his sins, the sin also 
of never having put on the phylacteries be found, 
judgment is pronounced on him according to his 
sin ; but still he has a share in the world to come. 
Even on all the wicked, though their sins be 
numerous, judgment is pronounced according to 
their sins, but yet they have a share in the world 
that is to come. For all Israel have a share in 
the world that is to come, although they have 
sinned, for it is said, thy people also shall be all 
righteous, they shall inherit the land forever.* Here 
land is a figure meaning the land of life, which is 
the world that is to come. Also the pious of other 
nations have a share in the world that is to 
come."f To the same purpose the Mishna, as 
quoted by the same authority : " All Israel have 
a share in the world that is to come, for it is said, 
thy people shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the 
land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of 
my liands, that I may be glorified." That the author 
has in view a future state is undeniable, as, in the 
same chapter, he repeatedly refers to those of 
whom he is speaking as having died, and especial- 
ly in the 24th section, where he speaks of the 
sinner dying a penitent, repenting at the end, and 
consequently having a share in the world to come. 

* Isaiah, I x. 21. 
t Precepts relating- to Repentance, chap. iii. sect. 11. pp. 239, 240. 
Bernard. 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 43 

On the other hand, it is melancholy to be 
obliged to note the author's inflexible adherence to 
the fundamental error, which maintains the abso- 
lute unchangeableness and perpetuity of the Mo- 
saic system, and the obligation of cutting off the 
man, who would venture to represent it as abol- 
ished. I cite a few passages. " If a prophet 
were to arise and perform great signs or wonders, 
but sought to deny the prophecy of Moses our 
master, we must not hearken to him, but should 
know with certainty that the signs were perform- 
ed by enchantment or witchcraft."* It is clear 
and manifest, that the law is a commandment 
which is to last forever and ever, and which does 
not admit of any alteration, diminuiton, or addi- 
tion. For it is said, " what thing soever I command 
you, observe to do it : thou shalt not add thereto, nor 
diminish from it."i Again it is said, "those things 
which are revealed belong unto us and to our 
children forever, that we may do all the words of 
this law."f This teaches us that we are com- 
manded to perform all the requirements of the 
law forever* And so also it is said, an ordinance 
forever in your generations. No prophet is allowed 
henceforth to introduce any innovation. Should, 
therefore, any man arise, either from among the 
nations or from among Israel, and perform any 
sign or wonder, and declare that the Lord has 

* Foundations of the Law, chap. viii. sect. 7. p. 125. 
t Deut. xii.32. X Deut xxix. 29. 



44 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

sent him to add any commandment, or to dimin- 
ish any commandment, or to explain any of the 
commandments in such a way as we have not 
heard from Moses ; or if he were to say that the 
commandments, which have been enjoined upon 
the Israelites, are not to last forever, but were 
only temporary commandments ; then, behold, 
that man is a false prophet, for he came to deny 
the prophecy of Moses ; and so he is to be destroy- 
ed by strangulation, because he has dealt proudly 
in thus speaking in the name of the Lord things 
which He has not commanded him ; for He, blessed 
be his name, enjoined Moses, that his command- 
ment should be unto us and to our children for- 
ever, and God is not a man that he should lie."* 
He afterwards allows that a prophet may dis- 
pense with the obligation of a divine law for a 
time, in order to obtain some important result ; 
11 but if he say that the thing is to be broken for- 
ever, he must be destroyed by strangulation ; for 
the law says, unto us and our children forever ."f 
He lays down the same principle in another part 
of his work, although he limits its application to 
all classes of Israelites. " He who says that the 
Creator has commuted one commandment for 
another, and thus this law is abolished, although 
it was originally from the Lord, is an Israelite who 
denies the law."| 

* lb. chap. vi. sect. 1, 2 , pp. 127-30. t lb. p.134. 

X Precepts relating to Repentance, chap. iii. sect. 15. p. 243. 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 45 

It must be obvious, that so long as this is regar- 
ded as a fundamental principle of Judaism, it is 
idle to expect that the Israelites can be in- 
duced to renounce their law, and to embrace the 
gospel as the only way of salvation. " The veil 
is upon their heart," and they cannot < ; steadfast- 
ly look to the end of that which is abolished."* 

Notwithstanding his plain reference to a future 
state of happiness to be enjoyed in the heavenly 
kingdom, Maimonides lays down certain marks to 
enable his brethren to judge of the claims of an 
avowed Messiah, which are founded on misappre- 
hensions of the spiritual nature of his kingdom, 
and on the presumption that he is to be a secular 
prince, a great warrior in the ordinary sense of the 
word, and a king reigning and judging in the literal 
Jerusalem. " Do not suppose," says he, "that it 
is needful that the king Messiah should perform 
either signs or wonders, (such as inverting the 
order of nature, or resuscitating the dead, or other 
miraculous deeds,) according to the opinion which 
fools entertain of him. Such is not the case, for, 
behold, Rabbi Akibah was a great sage, and one 
of the wise men of the Mishna, and he became 
armor bearer to Ben Chosibah the king, whom 
he declared to be the Messiah. And not only 
Akibah, but all the wise men of that age, consid- 
ered Ben Chosibah to be the king Messiah, until 
for his sins he was slain ; when his death con- 

*2Cor. Hi. 15,13. 



46 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

vinced them that they were mistaken in his char- 
acter. But the sages did not require of him either 
token or wonder. 

The fundamental principles of this matter are 
as follows : This law which has been to us 
through Moses our teacher, (peace be with him,) 
together with its statutes and enactments, is im- 
mutable, and is in force forever and until the end 
of time ; nothing is to be added thereto, nor must 
aught be diminished therefrom. And whoever 
does either add, or diminish or pervert the inter- 
pretation of the law, or assign a mystical or alle- 
gorical sense to the commandments contrary to 
their plain and obvious meaning ; such an one is 
decidedly a liar, an evil doer and an infidel, 
(Epicurean.) Should a king arise of the house 
of David, who observes the law and per- 
forms the commandments, as did David his 
progenitor, according to the oral and the written 
law, who obliges all his people in Israel to be 
steadfast in their obedience to the divine precepts, 
and to repair any infraction therein, and fight the 
battles of the Lord, he may be considered as inten- 
ded to be Messiah the king. If he prospers in 
his undertakings, is victorious over all surrounding 
nations, rebuilds the temple in its appointed place, 
and gathers the dispersed exiles of the house of 
Israel there, it is decided that he is the true Mes- 
siah. But should he not prove successful to that 
extent, or should be slain, it is then evident that he 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 47 

is not the Messiah predicted and promised in holy 
writ, but he is like all those other just and pious 
kings of the house of David who are deceased. " # 
It is hardly necessary to remark, that all this is 
gratuitous assertion, founded on a partial view 
of prophecy, and a literal and verbal exposition. 
The tendency of such views is obviously to call 
off the mind from that spiritual and religious ap- 
preciation of Christ's kingdom which Christianity 
developes, and to sanction and establish a desire 
after secular and political power. 

A few years after the completion of the 
Yad chazakah, Maimonides composed in Arabic 
his Delalith al Hairin, known by the Hebrew 
title of More hannevochim, Guide of the Per- 
plexed. We see, in this publication, not the 
Talmudic Jew, but the philosophical inquirer, 
who felt the necessity of infusing soul into the then 
lifeless body of Judaism ; of abandoning the 
wretched system of retailing Rabbinical opinions, 
whereby the prevalent method of instruction bur- 
dened the memory, and blunted the intellect ; and 
of elevating the Jewish mind to the exercise of its 
own reason and reflection on the divinely revealed 
contents of the scriptures. In this work he de- 
clined the use of the Hebrew language, partly 
because he wished to avoid giving direct offence 
to the prejudices of a large proportion of his nation, 

* Maimonides, as quoted in the Hebrew Review, vol. ii. p. 3G7, 
Lond.1835, from the Yad. vol. iv. Book xiv. chap. 71. 



48 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

and partly because he could with the greater fa- 
cility express his philosophical views in the Ara- 
bic. The design of this book is to develop the 
spiritual character of the revelation made through 
Moses, and to show how its difficulties may be 
removed, and its seeming contradictions accom- 
modated by the calm illumination of the holy scrip- 
tures, without the aid of Rabbinical tradition and fa- 
bles. In a letter addressed to his son, the author de- 
clares that he did not write his work in order to pro- 
mote his own reputation, his advanced age having 
taught him to estimate lightly such honor ; but 
rather as a useful recreation, and in order to set 
at rest various doubts. In publishing it to the 
world, he was governed by the consideration, 
that he had a religious duty to perform, growing 
out of the prevailing ignorance of the Jews, and 
in the hope that some, at least, might derive in- 
struction from its pages, although many a fool 
would cast it aside as useless, or, on account of 
the confusion of his own mind, regard it as unin- 
telligible. 

The More Nevochim soon found an honorable 
distinction in the south of France. In Marseilles, 
a Spanish Rabbi, named Judah Ben Solomon, un- 
dertook a translation of it into Hebrew, but was 
not very successful, owing somewhat to the incor- 
rectness of his cop} r . The work was performed 
much more correctly by another Spanish Jew, 
Rabbi Samuel Ben Judah Ebn Tibbon, at the 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 49 

instance of the most respectable Rabbins of 
Provence. This excellent translator, whose fath- 
er was already well known for his translations of 
many Arabic writings, regarded it as his first duty 
to open a correspondence with the author, and 
to send him some portions of his version, request- 
ing him, at the same time, to explain obscurities, 
and correct the errors which had crept into the 
copies through the carelessness of transcribers. 
It is hardly necessary to add, that courteous and 
satisfactory replies were sent without hesitation. 
Maimonides speaks in very favorable terms of the 
character of the translation : but it must be re- 
gretted that it was only in part subjected to his 
supervision. An opportunity of examining the en- 
tire work would, in all probability, have resulted in 
a closer approximation to the pure Hebrew idiom, 
and a removal of those traces of the original lan- 
guage, which at present are but too conspicuous. 
While the pupils and friends of Maimonides 
estimated his work too highly to allow it to remain 
concealed in a language not generally understood, 
the bigoted adherents of Rabbinism, who had be- 
come acquainted with its character, renewed the 
cry of heresy that burst out from that very pro- 
vince which procured the translation of his book. 
The More Nevochim was publicly burned ; the 
author and his adherents, comprehending all who 
dared to read this or other philosophical works 

written by Greeks or Arabians, subjected to the 
3 # 



50 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

i 

ban ; and, for forty years, the Rabbinical world 
was torn to pieces by internal commotions and 
logomachies. The gifted author did not live to 
witness the confusion of which he had been the 
indirect occasion. He died at Cairo, at the age 
of seventy-five, generally beloved and lamented, 
not, however, without expressing his apprehen- 
sion to his son of the storm of persecution that 
was arising. 

The More Nevochim is in three parts. An 
account of it in detail may be found in Wolf, 
Vol. I. pp. 855-859 ; III. 779-785 ; and IV. 917, 
918. The younger Buxtorf translated the work 
into Latin, beginning his task at the age of twen- 
ty-five years. He is highly commended by his 
father for his perspicuity in eliciting the meaning 
of his author. Wolf, in his third volume, speaks 
of a Latin version prior to that of Buxtorf, and 
gives a specimen of both. 

The remains of Maimonides were interred at 
Tiberias. Some French Jews, travelling in Pal- 
estine, effaced, it is said, the honorable inscription 
on his tomb, which distinguished him as " the 
choice one among men," and substituted in its 
place one of the very opposite character, " the 
excommunicated and the heretic:" a striking 
comment on the extravagance of ignorance and 
fanaticism. 

This sketch will be suitably concluded by a 
short notice of the active and useful manner, in 



JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 51 

which the last years of this remarkable man were 
employed. It is drawn originally from his letter 
to Rabbi Samuel, the translator of his work. In 
reference to a suggestion made by this person of 
his inclination to visit the author of the More, and 
to converse with him on the topics of his book, 
Maimonides, while he expresses the great satis- 
faction which he would derive from a visit from 
his friend, frankly acknowledges that his en- 
gagements are so unremitted, as to deprive him 
of the pleasure of much intercourse and conver- 
sation. The duties which his station required 
him to discharge, were oppressive and injurious 
to his health. He was compelled to visit the pal- 
ace daily, and to attend to the medical wants of the 
royal occupant, and of his children and women. On 
returning to his residence, so many sick persons 
were in waiting, for all of whom he was obliged 
to prescribe, that he had not time enough to take 
his meals. Religious topics were necessarily 
confined to the Sabbath, when he was occupied 
by members of the congregation. It is not to be 
doubted that on this day he was called on to ex- 
pound various topics of the Jewish law, and to 
solve such difficulties as were thought to surpass 
the ability of ordinary minds. 



DAVID KIMCHL 



Among the most distinguished defenders ofMai- 
monides, the name of Rabbi David Kimchi, 
who is known by the abbreviated term Raddak, 
is conspicuous. He lived at a period when the dif- 
ficulties were at the greatest height, the latter 
part of the twelfth century and beginning of the 
thirteenth, and died, it is said, in Provence in the year 
1240. Several writers speak of him as a native 
of Narbonne, but Bartolocci asserts, without hesi- 
tation, that the country which gave him birth is 
entirely unknown. He states that the author of 
the Shalsheleth hakkaballa, that is, chain of tra- 
dition, speaks ofKimchi's being in Narbonne in the 
year of the Christian era, 1192; but this deter- 
mines nothing respecting the place of his birth. 
Many of his works, whether in print or manu- 
script, introduce him as David Kimchi of Spain, 
(the Sephardi.) in which country the family was 
long distinguished for supplying rulers of syna- 
gogues and rectors of schools, both in Arragon 



/ 



JEWISH RABBI, DAVID KIMCHI. 53 

and Castile.* Wolf supposes him to have been 
a Spaniard by birth, and to have resided in 
France.f His father, Joseph Kimchi, was dis- 
tinguished for scholarship, although inferior to 
both his sons, David and Moses. The former, as 
is well known, ranks at the head of the list of 
Jewish grammarians, and is certainly entitled to 
preference over all his predecessors. Uniting 
the study of philosophy with that of Hebrew 
grammar, he could hardly fail to incline to the 
side of Maimonides, although properly speaking, 
he did not strictly attach himself to either party, 
and regarded the whole quarrel as silly and ab- 
surd. To such an extravagant degree had the 
controversy extended, and so mischievous in its 
influence on domestic relations was the ban which 
the hostile Rabbies had denounced against whole 
congregations, that a general inclination was felt 
to bring about an accommodation, and David 
Kimchi was gladly received as a mediator. For 
along time he negotiated successfully with the 
most considerable of the French congregations, 
and was at length invested with full powers to 
effect a pacification, and if possible to put an 
end to the controversy. 

With this benevolent object in view, and pro- 
vided with the necessary papers, he undertook a 
journey from Narbonne to Toledo, the residence 
of Rabbi Judah Ben Joseph Alphachar, who had 

* Bart part ii. pp. 25, 26. t Vol. I, p. 299. 



54 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

taken a very prominent part in the opposition to 
Maimonides. His intention to have a personal 
interview with this zealot for Rabbinism, on the 
subject of the charges brought against that cele- 
brated author, was unhappily frustrated by a se- 
vere attack of fever, which prevented him from 
pursuing his journey, and confined him to his bed 
at Avila. In order that the efforts which he had 
already made might not be altogether unavailing, 
he committed the papers to his travelling compan- 
ion and nephew, Joseph, and sent him with a brief 
letter, stating the cause of his inability to visit 
Rabbi Judah, and entrejrting him, after a perusal 
of the transmitted papers should have put him in 
possession of the views of the most distinguished 
Rabbies, to exercise his authority in terminating 
the disgraceful contest, by laying under the ban its 
principal promoters, Rabbi Solomon, head of the 
congregation of Montpellier, and his adherents. 
The reply of Alphachar, which was written 
i n rhyme, according to the tasteless fashion of the 
age, and a considerable time after the receipt of 
Kimchi's letter, was in the highest degree con- 
temptuous, and indirectly calumniated him and 
his coadjutors, as persons who had fallen away 
from religion and become despisers of the law. 
The mild and sensible rejoinder of the French 
Rabbi produced a still more contemptuous and 
extravagant letter from his Spanish correspondent. 
He ridicules the troublesome journey which Kim- 



JEWISH RABBI, DAVID KIMCHI. 55 

chi had undertaken in order to effect a reconcilia- 
tion, by an allusion evidently intended to be witty, 
to Satan's "going to and fro in the earth," as 
mentioned in the book of Job ; speaks of "the 
guide of the perplexed" as himself walking in 
darkness and wandering in the wilderness ; ac- 
cuses him of wishing to reconcile the views of the 
Bible with the natural philosophy of the Greeks ; 
"but," says he, accommodating, as is his custom 
throughout the letter, the language of scripture to 
his subject, "the Hebrew women are not as the 
Egyptian women ; the one (doctrine) saith, nay, 
but my son is the living, and thy son is the dead." 
He concludes his epistle by acknowledging the 
great value of the former work of Maimonides, and 
confines his censures to the More Nevochim, at the 
same time advising Rabbi David to depart from 
the evil way, and to return to the true faith. 

Kimchi began his letters to Judah with clauses 
taken from verses of the Bible ; for instance, " thou 
art Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee:" the 
verb praise, as the Hebrew reader well knows, 
being an alliteration with the name Judah. The 
discourteous correspondent introduces his reply 
in the language of Zachariah, " the Lord rebuke 
thee, Satan, or adversary."* This letter was 
never received, possibly because the writer on 
more mature deliberation was induced to with- 
hold it, but more probably on account of the re- 

* Bart, ubi sup. p. 29. 



56 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

moval of Kimchi to another place. That he was 
acquainted with the introductory allusion to Satan 
or adversary, is clear from a third letter which 
he addressed to his prejudiced and impetuous 
correspondent, in which he expostulates with him 
on the mortifying allusions in which he had in- 
dulged, and points out the danger to which the 
Jewish community was exposed from the Christ- 
ians, in consequence of having called in their aid 
in suppressing the philosophical works of Mai- 
monides. Another communication from Rabbi 
Judah closes the correspondence. He defends 
his former letters, and also his own conduct and 
that of Rabbi Solomon, and ends by declaring that 
this is the last word that he will waste on the 
subject. 

The dissensions which the publication of the 
More Nevochim occasioned still, however, contin- 
ued, until, after much discussion and controversy, 
both parties recalled their respective acts of ex- 
communication, and peace was at last established. 
But the reconciliation was by no means cordial. 
The flame of contention was not extinguished ; it 
was only smothered, and in the next generation 
burst out again with open violence. 

Kimchi is one of the most distinguished of the 
Jewish writers, and has been extravagantly eulo- 
gized by his nation.* An account of his most im- 
portant works is given by Wolf, in Vol. I. pp. 299 

* As the word meaning meal was figuratively used for the law, 



JEWISH RABBI, DAVID KIMCHI. 57 

-310, III. 188-195, and IV. 806-808, and also 
in the Biog. Univ. Tome xxii. pp. 419, 420, and 
Bartolocci, part II. pp. 30-34. The most impor- 
tant are his Hebrew Grammar, which he entitled 
Michlol, perfection, his Lexicon, or Book of Roots, 
Sepher Shorashim,*and his commentaries, in which 
he shows himself to be a careful and literal in- 
terpreter, too much given, it has been said, to 
grammatical niceties, and therefore somewhat 
tedious, but in a great degree free from those 
trifles and superstitions which abound in the writ- 
ings of the Jewish Rabbies. According to some 
authors, he commented on the whole Bible, but 
Bartolocci speaks of his having written on the 
Pentateuch as doubtful. He had never been able 
to discover a copy.f 

and as, with the addition of a Yod, it forms the family name of our 
author, his admirers played upon the term in the proverb, no meal 
without Kimchi (miller). 

* Bartolocci and Wolf consider these two productions as differ- 
ent parts of the same general work. 

i Ubi sup. p. 30. 



ABARBANEL. 



Don Isaac Abarbanel, the son of Don Judah, 
was born in Lisbon, in 1437. He was of Spanish 
extraction,* the family having originally fled from 
Spain to avoid one of the persecutions which so 
often harrassed the Jews of that country. His 
education was suitable to the distinction and 
wealth of his father, and his abilities and ac- 
quirements procured for him the admiration of his 
own and subsequent ages. He was in high esti- 
mation with Alphonso, who admitted him to the 
honor of being one of his privy counsellors, a mark 
of confidence, of which the influential Jew showed 
himself to be worthy. He was also minister of 
finance both in Spain and in Portugal. The 
death of this monarch, however, put an end to 
his dignity. Don Juan II., bent upon oppressing 
the nobility and elevating the royal power, intro- 
duced important changes into the administration, 
which produced dangerous commotions among 

* The family of Abarbanel was one of opulence and distinction. 
Some indeed, have not scrupled to derive his origin from David, but 
this appears altogether idle and unfounded. See Wolf, Vol. 1. 
p. 628. 



JEWISH RABBI, ABARBANEL. 59 

the grandees. Abarbanel, who was probably im- 
plicated in the measures of the Duke of Braganza, 
although he had withdrawn from public affairs, 
was suddenly summoned to the king's presence. 
He was on his way thither, when he received timely 
notice that his obedience would probably cost him 
his life. Immediately he returned, and collecting 
his family and most valuable effects, he fled to 
Castile, where he spent some time in literary pur- 
suits, and wrote his annotations on the prophets. 
He was much respected by the Jews there, and 
soon acquired the confidence of Ferdinand and 
Isabella, doubtless by some disclosures which he 
made of the relations of Portugal. 

Abarbanel availed himself of the favorable re- 
gard of the royal pair, with the view of benefit- 
ting his Jewish brethren. But his efforts were 
unsuccessful. Scarcely had he heard of the edict 
banishing jjie Jews from Spain, than he threw 
himself at the feet of the sovereigns, laid before 
them the misery and deplorable consequences 
which such a measure would necessarily produce, 
and offered them immense sums to enable them to 
carry on their wars with the Moors, on condition 
of recalling the ruinous decision. His earnest- 
ness made a strong impression on the royal minds. 
Bnt the effect of his eloquent representations, and 
the hope of the Jews, were frustrated by the en- 
trance of the grand inquisitor Torquemada, with 
a crucifix in his hand. " Judas," said he to the 



60 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

sovereigns, " sold his master for thirty pieces of 
silver ; your highnesses are willing to sell him 
again for 30,000 pieces of gold. Here he is, take 
him and dispose of him quickly." 

On the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Abar- 
banel retired to Naples, and shortly afterwards he 
went to Messina. The invasion of Charles VITI, 
who took Naples in the same month, was in all 
probability unexpected by him, as he had left his 
family in that city. He afterwards proceeded to 
Corfu, where he had the satisfaction of recovering 
his commentary on the Pentateuch, composed at 
Lisbon, the manuscript of which had been stolen 
from him. This work he enlarged, and comple- 
ted it in the following year at Minopolis, where 
he lived with his family. During his residence 
at that place, he composed a number of learned 
works. His exposition of Daniel is said to be par- 
ticularly worthy of notice, in a historical point of 
view, and also on account of the hope expressed 
in it of the advent of the Messiah within 70 years 
at farthest. If the author could have been cha- 
grined at a foresight of the failure of his expecta- 
tion, and at the same time have anticipated the 
predictions of numerous commentators subse- 
quently to his own age, he might have consoled 
himself by the consideration, that in committing a 
palpable error on this point, he was only one of 
a multitude of prophets, who felt a brotherly sym- 
pathy in his mortification. 



JEWISH RABBI, ABARBANEL. 61 

In after life Abarbanel settled in Venice, 
where he maintained no slight degree of influence 
with the senate. He died there in 1508, at the 
age of 71 years, and was buried at Padua. 

Abarbanel is well known as an able com- 
mentator, although tedious from the immense 
number of questions which he is constantly pro- 
posing, to which he returns correspondent answers. 
He was a keen and sarcastic opponent of the 
Christians,* and his commentaries, particularly 
those on the later prophets, abound with attacks on 
Christ and his Church. His hostility is not to be 
wondered at, as his views must have been founded 
on the wretched abuses of our holy religion by 
which he was surrounded, and which exercised so 
impolitic and flagitious an influence on the persons 
and property of his nation. Some notice of his va- 
rious commentaries and other works may be seen 
in the Biographie Universelle, Tom. I. p. 102, 103, 
in Wolf, Vol. I. p. 628-640, III 540-544 and VI. 876, 
877, and in Bartolocci, part. iii. p. 876-884. 

* Thus, for example, he interprets Isa. v. 8, of the monks and 
priests, who appropriated estates to themselves, and verse 11, of their 
luxurious banquets in their monasteries. At times, it is hardly to be 
supposed that he is serious, as where he explains v. 18 of the bell 
ropes. These instances are given by Gesenius in his Introduction 
to Isaiah, § 17, note 76., Vol i. p. 126. Abarbanel is described by 
Bartolocci, part iii. p. 875-6, as a most indefatigable student and re- 
markably ready writer, but an interpreter not to be relied on, a bitter 
enemy to Christians, writing execrations against them at the very 
time that he was paying court to their princes. 



SAADIAS, THE GAON. 

Rabbi Saadias Ben Joseph, was born in Fay- 
oum* in Egypt in the year 892. He is generally 
distinguished by the term Gaon with the article 
prefixed, the or hag-gaon. This is a title of honor, 
equivalent to the illustrious, by which, in that pe- 
riod the learned heads of Jewish schools were 
designated. It is applied by Aben Ezra and oth- 
ers to Saadias byway of distinction, on account of 
his extraordinary merit. The rectorship of the 
school in Sora near Babylon becoming vacant, the 
Resh Gelutha,t that is the prince or president of 
the Jews in that country, David Ben Zaccai, could 
not immediately determine whom he would ap- 
point to fill this station. Two persons of distinc- 
tion and character seemed to possess nearly equal 
claims to the office in question. Zemach Ben 
Sahen was a descendant of a learned line of pro- 
genitors in Sora ; Saac^as, the Egyptian, had ac- 
quired an established reputation for his extensive 

* Called also Al Fimiu and Pethom. t Head of the Captivity. 



JEWISH RABBI, SAADIAS THE GAON. 63 

learning and excellent character. But he was a 
bold and unyielding man. The Resh Gelutha, 
unable to decide between the two, offered the 
dignity to a certain Nassi, to whom he was great- 
ly indebted for assisting him in obtaining the 
presidency. It was declined, however, on the 
ground, acknowledged with a candor equally lau- 
dable and uncommon, of inability to perform the 
duties of so important a place. Motives of policy 
led to the appointment of Saadias ; for although 
David regarded him with unfriendly feelings, he 
advanced him to the vacant dignity, in the hope, 
if a quarrel should break out, of being able to dis- 
place him the more easily on accouut of his being 
a foreigner. The anticipated difficulty was not 
long in occurring. Its cause is unknown, but it 
needed nothing more than a trifle to enkindle the 
flame of discord between a rich man ambitious of 
power, and a scholar conspicuous for his talents 
and conscious of superiority. So powerful, both 
among the wealthy and the learned, was the par- 
ty of the Gaon, that all the efforts of his opponent 
to remove him from his office were unsnccessful. 
Several circumstances occurred to widen the 
breach, all of which however, while they showed 
the tenacity with which Rabbi Saadias adhered 
to his own opinions, showed no less his firmness 
in maintaining what was right and resisting op- 
pression. Each party endeavored to excite the 
people against the other by resorting to excom- 



64 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 

munication. After the lapse of seven years of 
disgraceful dissension, a mutual reconciliation took 
place, and the Resh Gelutha partook of an enter- 
tainment in the house of the Gaon, which of the 
two should have the privilege of acting as host to 
the other having been before decided by lot. 
Nothing occurred subsequently to this event to de- 
stroy the harmony of the parties, and about eight 
years afterwards, in the year 941 or 942, at the 
age of 50, Rabbi Saadias died. 

This distinguished Jew was a Talmudist, and 
maintained the Jewish doctrine of oral tradition. 
On this subject a dispute is said to have taken 
place between him and a certain Rabbi Shalmon, 
a Karaite, who had been his teacher, in the course 
of which, Saadias adduced seven arguments in 
defence of his view, all of which, however, were 
refuted by his opponent.* But although the Gaon 
defended the traditionary system of the lead- 
ing sect of the Jews, yet, as he studied under the 
directions of a Karaite, his views must have been 
formed under somewhat counteracting influences, 
which would naturally lead to a deeper investi- 
gation than is discoverable in ordinary Rabbinical 
writings. The tendency of extremes to produce 
each other may also account for his rejection of 
all mystical expositions, and his endeavour to 

* Miscellaneous Discourses relating to the Traditions and Usages 
of the Scribes and Pharisees in our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ's 
time, by W. Wotton, D. D. London, 1718. Vol. i. p. 75 ss. 



JEWISH RABBI, SAADIAS THE GAON. 55 

clear up what is inexplicable, by indirect and cir- 
cuitous methods of interpretation. He left behind 
him several valuable works, the most important 
of which is his translation of the Bible into Arabic. 
The Pentateuch, which was originally printed at 
Constantinople in 154G, has been introduced in 
the Paris and London Polyglotts ; Isaiah was pub- 
lished by Paulus from manuscripts of the Bodleian 
library and that of Pococke, with prefaces and 
notes at Jena, 1790, 179 J , 2 vols. 8vo. He is the 
author also of an exposition of the Canticles and 
Daniel, both in Hebrew. His Sepher haemunak? 
discourse on the faith, composed in Arabic and 
translated into Hebrew by Judah Ben Samuel 
Aben Tibbon, is a violent attack on the Christian 
religion in ten parts. Some account of these and 
the other productions of this Rabbi may be found 
in Bartolocci, Part. iv. p. 267,268 ; also in Wolf, 
vol. i. p. 933-936, iii. 859-S62, iv. 936, and in the 
Biographie Universelle, Tome xxxix. p. 404,405. 



SPECIMENS OF JEWISH 
COMMENTARY. 



# 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
JARCHI, 

ON ISAIAH, CHAP. XI. 



1. But there shall come forth a rod from the 
trunk of Jesse : And if you should say, behold, 
(these are) consolations for Hezekiah and his peo- 
ple, (assuring them) that they shall not fall into 
his hand ;* but what shall become of the captivi- 
ty which was carried captive to Chalah and Cha- 
bor ? has their hope perished ? It has not wholly 
perished, for king Messiah will come, and redeem 
them. — A rod ; a royal sceptre : and a branch ; it 
means, a sucker of a tree ; and a branch shall 
sprout forth from his roots. And the whole sub- 
ject of this prophecy, and (what is said) at the 
conclusion of it — and it shall come to pass in that 
day, that the Lord shall raise f his hand a second 

* He means, if it should be said that the consoling representations 
in the former chapter are only assurances to Hezekiah and the peo- 
ple of Judah, that they should not be subjected to the power of Sen- 
nacherib, king of Assyria, and have no reference to the Israelites, who 
had been removed from their native country. 

t Literally, add. 



70 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 

time — behold it is announced for the consolation 
of those who had been taken captive by the As- 
syrians. 

3 - ^ Jl&Ti imSTI' Shall fill (him with) 
the spirit of the fear of the Lord: in French, je 
ranimerai lui.* — He shall not judge according to 
the sight of his eyes : for through the wisdom of 
the holy one, blessed be he, (which is) within 
him,f he shall know and understand who is just 
and who is guilty. 

4- TV&Tfti (Eng. tr. with equity :) The word 
(expresses) ease and tenderness.^ — And he shall 
smite the earth with the rod of his mouth : ac- 
cording to the Targum ; and he shall strike the 
guilty of the earth. — And with the breath of his 
lips : and with the discourse of his lips. 

5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of 
his loins : and righteous persons shall surround 
him, adhering to him like a girdle. 

* The printed text in Buxtorf's Bible, and in the Bornberg edi- 
// // 
tion is 1^5 ta Pfa!D"1^1 ta| ^ ^ or which Breithaupht gives in his trans- 
lation erounemer, and in a note airounemer, both of which are unin- 
telligible. He thinks that the original is undoubtedly corrupted. 
This is probably the case. Hochstadter, in his edition of Isaiah, 

with the commentaries of Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and others, reads 

// 
ta P?2' ,, !]&'"P&$> an( h supposing the first part of the word to indicate 
the future tense, gives the French which I have introduced in the 
text. Still there appears no reason why Jarchi should have em- 
ployed the first person. 

t Lit. in the midst of him. 

X Analogous to the English use of smoothness, softness. 



JARCHI, ON ISAIAH, CHAP. XL 7£ 

6. And the fatling : the fatted ox. 

§■ 3Wt*)l And shall sport. — On the hole 
of the asp : on the hole of the ground in the midst 
of which the serpent makes his habitation, (nest ;) 
in French, grotte. 'ifrg (asp, denotes) a serpent, 
which, on becoming* old, grows deaf, and is call- 
ed pathen, and is incapable of being charmed : as 
it is said, which will not hearken to the voice of 
charmers.f — And upon the den (tTTi^» cave, 
hole,) of the basilisk. Jonathan J explains (it) of 
the appearance of the round balls (pupils) of the 
eye of the basilisk serpent ; but Menachem§ inter- 
prets it (by) cavern and dusty hole. And thus 
(we have) ^-^ of the Chaldees ; and thus tD^I&i 
glorify ye the Lord.|| — blfcD? a boy who is wean- 
ed from his mother's breasts. — ^nti* Shall put his 
hand. Jonathan explains (it thus :) shall stretch 
out his hand ; like "jj-j, the sounding again (echo,) 

* Literally, from that it becomes. 

t Ps. lviii. 6. The pathen is the species of serpent spoken of. 

% The author of the Chaldee Targum of the Prophets. 

§ Some one of the old Rabbies. Wolf mentions thirty-seven of 
the name, vol. i. pp. 762-778, and iii pp. 684-703. 

11 It is hardly necessary to suggest to the reader, that this is only 
a fancy, drawn from a similarity in the words. The first citation 
from Gen. xi. 31, refers to the name of a place, Ur, and the term 
employed in the other, Isa. xxiv. 15, means fires. In the latter pas- 
sage, Jarchi seems to have understood it of the Urim, and the whole 
quotation to mean, honor the Lord by Urim. The analogy lies sim- 
ply in this point, that the words imply the idea of the communi- 
cation of light. 



72 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 

of the mountains,* and like Tin* which denotes 
elevation of the voice, this (word) also expresses 
elevation. But the he final, (which) enters into, 
(that is, belongs to,) this word as radical, falls 
away, like to$, rm> nip- 

9. m t"|& nSH) to know the Lord. 

10. For an ensign (a standard) of the people : 
that the people may raise a standard in order to 
be collected to it. 

11. A second time : as he acquired (deliver- 
ed) them from Egypt, which deliverance of theirs 
was complete, without servitude ;t but the deliv- 
erance of the second house was not of the (that) 
number,| for behold they were subjected to Cyrus. 
And from the islands (or coasts) of the sea. These 
are the islands (or coasts,) of Chittim, Javanim.§ 

12. And he will set up a standard : in 
French, perche ; and it will be a sign to collect to 
it, (or, to him, that is, God,) and to bring the cap- 
tivity of Israel (as) a present to him. 

13. Ephraim shalt not envy Judah: Messiah, 
the son of Joseph, and Messiah, the son of Judah, 
will not envy each other. 

* Ezek. vii. 7. 

t Lit., pure, so that they should not serve. 

X That denoted by the phrase, a second time. The reason is 
that it was incomplete, inasmuch as they continued in subjection to 
the Persian Government. 

§ Or, according to the reading in the Bomberg Bible, Chittim, 
Romans, sons of Esau. 



JARCHI , ON ISAIAH, CHAP. XI. 73 

14. But they will fly upon the shoulders ot 
the Philistines towards the west. Israel will fly 
and run with one shoulder* against the Philistines 
who (live) in the west of the land of Israel, and 
will subdue their land : like in the way they mur- 
der by consent,t (nfcDTB* equivalent to) one shoul- 
der. And thus Jonathan explains it : and they 
shall associate themselves one shoulder to smite 
the Philistines who are in the west. — And the 
children of Ammon (will be) their obedience ; ac- 
cording to the Targum, will obey them, receiving 
their commands to them. 

15. And (the Lord) shall utterly destroy : to 
dry it, (that is, the sea,) in order that the captives 
of Israel may pass over by it from Egypt. — Over 
the river : the river Euphrates, that the captivity 

in Assyria might pass over by it. With his 

mighty wind : As there is nothing like this in 
scripture,J the subject suggests the meaning to 
be,$ by his strong wind.— In seven streams : in 
seven divisions, that the seven captivities || above 
mentioned, might pass over by it, (those namely) 
from Assyria, and from Egypt, and so forth ; the 
islands of the sea not being comprehended within 

* That is, unanimously. Compare the English'phrase, shoulder 
to shoulder. 

t Hosea vi. 9. 

t That is, as the word Q" 1 ^ never elsewhere occurs. 
§ Lit., the thing is explained (thus.) 

I! He means the captives in the seven countries before spoken of. 
4 * 



74 COMMENTARY, &c. 

the enumeration.*- And make go : (that is,) through 
the midst of it, the captives. — trb25!2* With 
sandals, (in other words,) on dry ground. 

16. And there shall be a highway: in the 
midst of the waters for the remnant of his people. 

* Lit., " and from the isles of the sea" is not of this class. 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID KIMCHI, 

ON ISAIAH XI. 

1. But there shall come forth a rod. This sec- 
tion, which relates to the future, the time of the 
Messiah, is connected with (the subject of) the 
tranquillity which prevailed in the days of Hez- 
ekiah. He says, (that is, the prophet,) you 
should not be astonished on account of a great 
wonder, such as that which was done in the days 
of Hezekiah, in the destruction of the camp of 
the Assyrians in a moment ; for a still greater 
wonder, than this shall be done for Israel in the 
time of the Messiah, that which will take place 
for Israel in the gathering together of the captivity. 
And this one will be of the family of king 
Hezekiah ; and he mentions Jesse, because from 
him the first king proceeded. The meaning of 
"Iftn i s rod, as in the Targums,* (or, in Chaldee.) 

* In Num. xvii. 8, 9, n*D)2 ls ^ our times rendered by Onkelos 

Ton- 



76 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

And he says, from the trunk, from his roots ; be- 
cause the tree which is cut down will sprout 
again, and produce branches from its trunk and 
roots. 3>n, trunk, denotes what is left of the 
tree above the ground, from the sides of which 
the branches will grow. And so from the roots 
which are under the ground, they will sprout forth 
in like manner. And because Israel have been 
gone into captivity from their land this great num- 
ber of years, and their kingdom has ceased, like 
the felled tree whose trunk and roots are (still) 
left ; he says that there is still hope that the 
trunk will sprout again. And the prophet says, 
that from the roots of Jesse and from his trunk 
shall yet come forth a rod, a branch, and there 
shall yet be a king over Israel as formerly, and 
they shall be greater than ever.* 

2. And he says : And the Spirit of the Lord 
shall rest upon him ; for all this shall be from the 
Lord. At first he says the Spirit of the Lord, 
and afterwards he explains (it by) the Spirit of 
wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel 
and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the 
fear of the Lord. — And learning, (!"|faDn>) that is, 
whatever! man may teach us, so that we shall 
know (it,) and it shall be ready (for use) at any 
time ; and understanding, (fl^,) is man's intel- 
ligence in (reference to) what he has not learned, 

* Lit. , shall exceed that which they were. 
t Lit., the thing which. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 77 

(resulting) from what he has learned.* — And 
counsel : this is knowledge and exercise in sub- 
jects relating to morals and the manners of men t 
with each other. — And knowledge and the fear of 
the Lord : both of these words are in construct 
with the Lord. He means to say that he will 
know the Lord and fear him. 

3. And shall make him of quick scent in the 
fear of the Lord. Because the smelling is a deli* 
cate sense, he denotes a delicate matter by this 
sense. And thus (we have.) he smelleth the bat- 
tle afar off — as a thread of tow is broken when it 
smelleth the fire.f And so he says, and shall 
make him of quick scent in the fear of the Lord : 
that is to say, with (but) little (exercise) of his 
intelligence, he will be able to perceive (properly 
to understand and appreciate,) men both good 
and bad, neither will it be necessary for him to 
see with the eyes and to hear with the ears, in 
order to judge the children of men and to pass 
equitable sentence on them ; for, by his know- 
ledge and understanding he will be acquainted 
with their works, with (the exercise of but) little 
intelligence. And my respected father, whose 
memory be blessed, explains irPISn by — and his 
discourse — meaning the breath of his mouth ; and 

* In other words, the former is acquired knowledge, and the lat- 
ter natural understanding strengthened by use. 

t Lit., children of the world. 

X Job xxxix. 25, and Judges xvi. 9. In these two passages the 
original word for smelleth is the same as that in the text of Isaiah. 



78 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

thus (we have), at my breathing, at my cry :* he 
means, that his discourse will be continually in 
the fear of the Lord. 

4. But with righteousness will he judge : 
He mentions the poor and meek of the earth. 
And although he will judge all men with upright- 
ness, (both) poor and rich ; yet, as the way of the 
world is to favor the great and the rich, he says, 
that he will not do so, but with righteousness he 
will take away the judgment (or cause) of the 
poor from the rich, and he will reprove, (or, pass 
sentence on,) the strong with equity on account of 
the meek of the earth, so that they shall not plun- 
der nor oppress them because they are weak and 
feeble. The Lamed in V^ ^"l^b ls P ut f° r > on 
account of, as it is also in, say for me (i^) he is 
my brother, t and in other similar places. And he 
will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth : 
He means the wicked of the earth. And inas- 
much as he mentions the meek of the earth, it is 
because they are of an opposite character : he 
places them in juxta-positionj in order to make 
(his meaning) the more intelligible. The end of 
the verse proves (this to be the correct exposition,) 
which says, will slay the wicked. And indeed, 
without an ellipsis, the meaning may be under- 
stood (to be), that he will smite the sons of the 

* Lara. iv. 56. The word rendered breathing, is from the same 
root as that in the text. 

t Gen. xx. 13. J Lit., puts mar. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XL 79 

earth, whomsoever it may be right to smite : for 
behold he had said, and he will reprove (or pass 
sentence,) with equity, for the meek of the earth.* 
And the meaning of — with the rod of his mouth — 
is, with the breath of his lips : for he will curse 
them and they shall die, as it is written of the 
righteous, thou shalt also decree a thing and it 
shall be established unto thee.f And (scripture) 
says of the prophet Samuel ; all that he saith 
cometh surely to pass ;{ and it is said of the 
prophet Elisha ; and he cursed them in the name 
of the Lord, and there came forth two she bears 
out of the wood, and tare forty and two children 
ofthem.<§> 

5. And righteousness shall be : the righteous- 
ness and the truth to which he will firmly adhere, 
shall be strength to him, so that his loins shall be 
firm. And the clause is doubled in repeated 
words. 

6, 7. And the wolf shall dwell : Some in- 
terpret (it thus,) that in the time of the Messiah, 
the nature of wild beasts and of cattle shall be 
changed, and return to what it was when they 
were originally created, and in the ark of Noah : 
for if when first created the lion fed upon the 
sheep, then|| the creation would have been de- 
stroyed. And what did the lion eat, or that sort 
of ravenous beasts that consume flesh ? For if he 

* And this implies the other of course. t Job xxii. 28. 

t 1 Sam. ix. 6. §2 Kings ii. 24. || Lit., behold. 



SO COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

ate the flesh of other wild beasts and of cattle, 
then* the world would have wanted such crea- 
tures ;f for they were all produced j a male and a 
female, no more ; and they did not delay eating 
until the prey had increased and multiplied. But 
undoubtedly they ate the grass of the field, until 
the prey had become sufficiently numerous,^ and 
from that time and onward their nature was car- 
niverous. So also in the ark of Noah, if the rave- 
nous beasts had preyed on other animals, behold 
such prey would have been destroyed ;|| for they 
entered in by pairs and no more. Notwithstand- 
ing,^ it is said, that those which by sevens he 
brought in of the clean (beasts,) were for the 
use** of the ravenous animals. And some ex- 
plain the whole of this as figurative ; for the 
wolf and the leopard, and the bear and the 
lion, are all figures of wicked men, oppres- 
sors and plunderers, who (are) to the weak 
like wild beasts that tear in pieces the prey ; and 
the lamb and the cow and the calf and the kid, are 
all figures of the meek of the earth. And the mean- 
ing is, that in the time of the Messiah peace shall 
prevail in the earth, and no one shall injure another. 
But this exposition cannot be sustained according 
to what he says, they shall not hurt nor destroy in 

* Lit., behold. t Lit., that creation. J Lit., born. 

§ Lit., had increased and multiplied. 

|| Lit., had ceased from the world. 

1 Lit., but if so. ** Lit., need. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 81 

all my holy mountain. And in Messiah's time all 
the world shall be in peace, as it is written, and 
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and 
their spears into pruning hooks, and. nation shall 
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall 
they learn war any more ;* and he says, and 
the battle-bow shall be cut off, and of the Mes- 
siah he says, and he shall speak peace unto 
the heathen.t Yet it cannot be doubted, that the 
nature of the wild beasts will not be changed. 
They will tear in pieces and consume flesh as 
they do now ; but he assures Israel that the evil 
beasts shall not do mischief in all the land of Is- 
rael, the same as (when) he says, they shall not 
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. And 
the sense of— for the earth shall be full of the knowl- 
edge of the Lord — (is this,) that after they have 
become good and kept the way of the Lord, evil 
beasts shall not get the mastery over them or their 
cattle and property, as he assures (us) by Moses 
our master, on whom be peace, I will rid evil beasts 
out of the land,! and even if they roam through 
the landthey shall do no injury. And the cow and 
the bear shall feed and so forth : And thus it is in 
the prophet Hosea,§ and in that day will I make 
a covenant for them with the beasts of the field 
and with the fowls of heaven and so forth. And 
the words, and the lion shall eat straw like the 
ox, (are to be explained thus,) as if he should eat 

* Iba. ii. 4. t Zech. ix. 10. t Levit. xxvi. 6. § ii. 20, (18.) 



82 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

straw like the ox ; that he will not tear the flesh of 
animals in the land of Israel unless (indeed,) he 
should find carcasses. But nevertheless this may 
be explained figuratively, and the lion and the 
bear and the serpent will be figures of bad reli- 
gions ; andthe interpretation of — and the cow and 
the bear shall feed (will be this :) that the cattle* 
shall be wholly occupied in the service of God and 
not at all in the vanities of the world ; and this 
is what he means (by the words ;) for the earth shall 
be full of the knowledge of the Lord. — And the fat- 
ling : Some say that this (denotes) one of the species 
of larger cattle ; but others explain it of fatted cat- 
tle, to which, in reference to other animals, the term 
fatlings would be applied, and thus the Targum 
of Jonathan — and the fatted. — And the cow and 
the bear, i*n ' the word is feminine ; and so (we 
have) and there came forth two she bears, f J-ft&^iTi 
S^lntD d^H» and so T^lTT^ (and) trtm» and 
their young ones (iJYHb' 1 ') shall lie down together.^ 
8- frniBfc $mwi : : Like (lin) hole : it is thus 
called, because it is the way of ingress to the place 
where the serpent is ; and so, the dens, (jnYl Hi £)?"!») 
which(are§inthe mountains— which wehaveinter- 

* The domestic cattle, in contradistinction to the wild animals. 
The word is employed figuratively for those who practice the true 
religion. 

1 2 Kings ii. 24. 

t He means that notwithstanding the masculine form the gender 
is feminine, as indeed its grammatical construction shows. 

6 Judg. vi. 2. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 83 

preted*by caves (trn^fan) and they have a hole 
(Tin) by which the light (rnt&W enters : there- 
fore they are so called. And the clause is two- 
fold, the same thing being repeated. Now (as to) 
the meaning of weaned, bi^ : (it is) as it were a 
suckling, but who is called weaned when the time 
of its sucking is completed. And he says the 
suckling and the weaned child ; in reference to 
the serpent, inasmuch as serpents are often found 
in the holes of the house, and the little ones put 
their hands on the floor of the house, and in the 
holes of the walls, ft*] ft is equivalent to ft^i and 
means, will put forth his hand. And behold, the 
serpent's enmity, which it was determined, at the 
time of the fallt (should be directed) towards the 
man, shall in Messiah's age depart in all the land 
of Israel ; and with respect to the people of Israel, 
in every place whither they shall have gone, nei- 
ther the serpent nor evil beasts shall injure them. 
And Jonathan explains JiTi&fa (of) the appear- 
ance of the round balls (pupils) of the eyes of the 
basilisk serpent. He means, that as the serpent 
is in his hole, which is a dark place, his eye-ball 
shines ; and the sucking child from the outside 
sees the light, and imagines it to be a shining 
stone or a piece of glass, and stretches out his 

* Kimchi alludes to his note on the text in Judges, where he gives 
this exposition. 

t Lit., in the days of bereshith, meaning creation, the first word 
in Genesis being used to express the subject of the chapter. 



84 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

hand to take it, (that is,) the thing which he ima- 
gines it to be : and he touches a basilisk, but it does 
him no harm. And he mentions the asp (or viper) 
and basilisk, because they are of the worst species 
of serpents, and still they will do no injury ; much 
less those of any other sort. 

9. They shall not hurt : He calls all the land 
of Israel my holy mountain, and employs the 
term mountain, because* it is higher than any 
other country. And what is the reason that they 
shall not hurt ? Because the earth shall be full of 
the knowledge of the Lord. The earth, that is, 
the land of Israel, as the prophet Jeremiah says,t 
for all of them shall know me, from the least of them 
unto the greatest of them, and so forth. As the wa- 
ters cover the sea : He calls the place of the waters, 
sea, the waters shall fill it, the place, (or, this 
place) until they cover it, so that the bottom of 
the sea shall not be seen. 

10. And there shall be a root of Jesse : that is, 
what sprouts from the root of Jesse, as he says, and 
a branch shall grow out of his roots, for Jesse is the 
root ; and thus the Targum of Jonathan, a son of 
the sons of Jesse. Which stands: that is,which shall 
stand in that day, the day of gathering together 
the captives. And it shall be for all the nations, 
like the standard in an army, after which, when 
elevated all the army will go. Thus all the 

* Lit., and the sense of mountain is, that — * xxxi. 34. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XL 85 

nations will seek the Messiah, and will go after 
him to do what he commands ; all of them will 
obey him. Therefore he shall be in honor ; so that 
there shall not be war with him : and he shall be 
in rest and in honor; for all the nations will honor 
him and serve him. 

11. And it shall be a second time : For at the 
first he redeemed them from the house of servants,* 
from Egypt, but, in the time of collecting the cap- 
tives, the Lord will raise his hand a second time 
to redeem them from all the countries whither 
they have been scattered. And this does not re- 
late to the Babylonian captivity, for that concerned 
Judah and Benjamin only, and they only went out, 
(returned to their land,) and the ten tribes were 
not collected ; therefore we cannot apply the phrase 
— a second time — to this collecting, for all Israel 
without a single exception went out from Egypt, 
and he would not say — a second time — unless it 
were like the first. But the collecting of these cap- 
tives will be a second as it respects Egypt, for 
all of them went out ; and thus all of them will go 
out when these captives are collected together. 
Therefore he says, from Assyria, and from Egypt, 
and fromPathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, 
and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the 
islands of the sea. And why does he say,t the 
remnant of his people which shall be left ? Be- 
cause many of them were consumed in the captiv- 

* Exod. xx. 2. t Lit., what is that which he says. 



SQ COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

ity. — And from the islands of the sea, (or mari- 
time countries :) They also of the land of Israel, 
which are in the countries of Edom and Ishmael ; 
behold these are the islands of the sea, (or mari- 
time countries.) 

12. And will lift up a standard : As if the 
holy and blessed one were to raise a standard to 
the nations, who should come tremblingly to the 
place of the standard. Thus, in that day all the na- 
tions will honorably dismiss the Israelites who are 
in their lands.* 

13. Shall depart : When the children of Israel 
shall be collected in their land, the jealousy which 
prevailed among them when they were made cap- 
tives from their land, shall depart ; for there was 
among them a division of the kingdoms owing to 
jealousy towards the kingdom of the house of 
David. — And the adversaries in Judah shall be 
cut off: For of old Judah contained adversaries 
to Ephraim. And Ephraim : He means all Israel 
with the exception of Judah ; and because the 
Israelites were jealous of the kingdom of the house 
of David, Judah was adverse and hostile to them, 
and thus we see that they retarded the kingdom 
seven years, so that, (or during which) David's 
royal authority was confined to Judah. And thus» 
when David returned to the kingdom after he had 

* Lit., thus in that day all the nations will dismiss the Israelites 
who are in their lands, who will go for themselves with honor. ^ j-j V 
for themselves, is redundant, like th** second \* , in Gen. xii. 1. 



K1MCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. S7 

fled away from Absalom, it is said, why did our 
brethren steal thee away, and so forth, and also, 
and the words of the men of Judah were fiercer 
than the words of the men of Israel ;* and Sheba 
the son of Bichri, blew a trumpet, and so forth.f 
And thus it was, until the kingdom was divided in 
the reign of Rehoboam, who said, I will add to your 
yoke. J And what does he mean by shall be cut 
off"? He means, shall not exist ; as, and the bat- 
tle-bow shall be cut off.§ And the subject is re- 
peated in different words. || 

14. But they shall fly upon : They shall move 
against the Philistines on the west of the land of 
Israel : thus the Targam of Jonathan. But we 
explain n32"|by flying, flight, (q^> MS "12) which 
denotes^ rapid motion ; and by the word flight, he 
expresses the rapidity of their motion to the place 
of the Philistines, to smite and plunder them. 
Others again make it equivalent to 3?:p"|, will be 
weary, meaning they will be fatigued, (Q^S^) 
by smiting the shoulders of the Philistines. And 
the word p^Oi is construct, although absolute 
in its form ; ** for according to the constructive 
usage it would require two soegols.f f But Ben Ash- 
er says, that it appears thus, (that is, as pointed in the 

* 2 Sam. xix. 42,44, (41, 43.) fib. xx. 1. 

U Kings, xii. 14. § Zech. ix. 10. 

If Lit., the clause is doubled with the subject in different words. 
IT Lit., is. ** Lit. goes according to the way in absolute, 

ft Lit., itsform (would be) with six points. 



88 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

text,) because it is milra, to sustain the sound of 
the Pe, on account of the Pe in Philistines.* — Edom 
and Moab : Although they are not strangers at 
the present day among the nations, from whom 
the Israelites alone are separated on account of 
their law, and with whom they do not familiarly 
associate ; but most of the other nations do so 
associate together. When he mentions Edom 
and Moab and the children of Ammon, he means 
their country and present inhabitants, according 
to what is said in the prophecy of Daniel which 
is 3 r et to be fulfilled — but these shall escape out 
of his hand, Edom and Moab and the chief of the 
children of Ammon :f thus it is to be explained. — 
t3T mbtE/2 : — tnat tne Israelites shall lay their 
hands on them as they please. — Qln^falTfa : tnat 
they will be obeyed in all their commands. He 
mentions these places, because of their proximity 
to the land of Israel, although all nations shall 
be thus subject to Israel. 

15. E*Hn)T ft expresses excision and divi- 
ding : and in this (latter) sense it is used in ref- 

* That is, to give a distinctness to the terminating letter of q £»»^ 
by throwing the accent on the latter syllable, whereas in its con- 
struct form pi-Q ft would fall on the former. Thus the reader is the 
better enabled to enunciate clearly the pe which commences the 
next word 0*t£"|1E)^5- Milra is a Chaldee term employed by He- 
brew Grammarians to denote that the word is accented on the last 
syllable. 

tDan. xi. 41. 



KIMCH1, ON ISAIAH XI. 89 

erence to the sea, as he says : to him who divided 
the Red Sea into parts.* The tongue of the Egypt- 
ian sea : this is the river of Egypt, which is called 
Sihon, (the Nile.) And it will go according to 
the will of God, who will make bare a way by 
which the redeemed may pass over. — And will 
shake his hand over the river : The river means 
the Euphrates, and so the Targum of Jonathan 
(explains it.) And the meaning of — will shake 
his hand — is, that he will bring on a violent wind 
which shall dry it up, as he did to the Red Sea at 
the exode from Egypt ; as he says, and there shall 
be a highway for the remnant of his people, and so 
forth. — imi fi^l- With the strength of his wind, 
which shall actf upon and dry up the river. And 
the word Q^^ is to be explained according to the 
subject, as it never elsewhere occursf in scripture. 
But Rabbi my brother, Rabbi Moses, interprets 
t^2 by fntDn ^2b> f° r a heap of the field, § the 
explanation of which is ^, heap. Thus ^$*2 w ^^ 
have the same meaning as E^i, that is to say, 
on the heaps of the sea. And the river: he will 
shake his hand and (raise) the wind to quiet them 
and to dry them. And shall smite it into seven 
streams : the holy blessed one shall smite the river 
Euphrates, and force it|| with a very strong wind 

* Ps. cxxxvi. 13. t Lit., go, move, 

t Lit., has no companion. § Mic. i.6. 

II I am not certain that this is the true meaning. The original 

is 1W»- 

5 



90 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

until it tarn into seven streams, and there shall be 
a way between stream and stream. And make 
pass — those who go over these ways ; with sandals 
— because the way will be dry as if there were no 
water there, and they will go over them with san- 
dals on their feet, THin is a transitive verb ; and 
it is God who causes to go, and he that passes 
over is the one that goes. But what does he 
mean by seven ? Perhaps, there will be seven 
ways and no more ; although it is probable that 
(the number) seven is employed to express 
multitude, meaning many ways, which is agree- 
able to usage :* as, seven times according to your 
sins;f the just falleth seven times and riseth up 
again-! 

1.6. And there shall be; in this river there 
shall be a highway for the remnant of his people ; 
that is to say, there shall be a prepared way, as if 
it had been a road a long time. We have already 
explained (what is meant by) the remnant. — And 
why does he say from Assyria? Because for 
those in Assyria the direct course|| to the land 



* Lit., for this is the way of the language. 

f Lev. xxvi. 21. X Prov. xxvi. 16. 

|| I conjecture the true reading to be *yr«-j^^ instead of ^^ss ht*. 

According to the printed text, the last clause of the sentence may be 
connected with the first, though not without harshness, thus : Because 
as to those who of the land of Israel are in Assyria, the direct course 
ie over the Euphrates. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 91 

of Israel is over the Euphrates. As it was : 
meaning, as there was a highway in the Red 
Sea, so shall there be a highway in the river 
Euphrates. 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI ABEN EZRA, 

ON ISAIAH XI. 



1. And there shall come forth : Many interpreters 
say, that this is the Messiah, and that the meaning 
is, he will destroy the camp of the Assyrians 
who laid seige to Jerusalem, and moreover, that 
the time of the complete redemption shall come 
to Jerusalem. But, in the opinion of Rabbi Moses 
Haccohen (the priest,) it refers to Hezekiah, 
agreeably to the context.* It^n is used in the 
Targum to express the sense of ntOft a staff (or 
rod.) 2n> trunk ; this is equivalent to — offspring, 
and -1^5 to branch, as — an abominable branch. f 
And the sense of, and shall come forth is,f that 
he was little at the time of the prophecy. 

2. iirftli according to the form of, and is re- 
turned (ni'©"l) unto ner father's house ;|| of (that 
class of verbs in which only) two (of the radical 

* Lit., for he (or it) is closely connected with this section, 
t Isa. xiv. 19. t That is, the language implies. 

I| Levit. xxiii. 13. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH XI. 93 

letters)* appear. And behold he explains — the 
Spirit of the Lord — to bet the spirit of wisdom and 
understanding, and thus it is written of Joshua 
in the law. And might: For Hezekiah was 
mighty, as it is written. 

3- 'IPP^m : The sense of hearing will often 
err, so as to hear (in imagination) when no voice 
is uttered ; and the eye will err, so that an object 
at rest will seem to it to be moving : but not so 
the sense of smelling. ipp"im> as if (it were,) he 
will smell the thing in the fear of the Lord which 
he has. He will not judge as it may appear to 
his eyes, nor as he shall hear ; for the witnesses 
may be false : and such are the reproofs (or pun- 
ishments) and judgments which are according to 
the law of the kingdoms.^ 

4. But with righteousness will he judge the 
poor: according to the judgments of the law, 
which does not show partiality to the poor. And 
he will reprove (or, pass sentence) with equity : 
with uprightness for the good. And he will smite 
the earth : With his mouth, as if it were a rod 
for the wicked. 

5. And (righteousness) shall be : And behold 
righteousness shall not depart from him all his 
days in all that he does. 

* In other words fc-jj— jk is the form ain vau, from j-j-iK which 
J oses the midile radical. 

t Lit., that the Spirit of the Lord is. 

t That is, such is often the result in cases that are brought before 
ordinary civil tribunals. Such : lit., these. 



94 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

6. And the wolf shall dwell : This is figurative 
of the peace which shall prevail in his time. 
And the fading: I have (elsewhere) explained 
this to be one of the (different) species of the ox 
(kind,) the fat of which is prohibited. 

7. And the cow : This is (the animal when) 
grown, for the calf is little ; and some say that 
the female is stronger than the male. Shall eat 
straw : As if its natural character should depart, 
and it should not injure by preying (on other 
animals.) 

8. ^Eyffili Shall play : you will always find 
the reduplicated verb used in this sense. — "nfl* 
the mouth or the nose. — £"m&Sto> the eye, because 
it commands* the light. The he in X\lX] may be 
instead of yod, (in) shoot ("|T) at her :t and the 
meaning is, he shall put forth his hand, or else it 
has no analogous expression (in scripture.) 

9. They shall not hurt: The asp and the 
basilisk ; as if all the land of Israel were full of 
the knowledge of the Lord : for it is known, that 
he who knows the Lord will never be destroyed, 
but be built up and established. As the waters : 
There is an ellipsis of the word which ; and thus 
he (says,) that knowledge shall be multiplied as 
the waters cover over the sea, so that they shall 
not fail, but be increased. 

10. And there shall be : If (this) relate to the 

* Lit., is mistress of. t Jer. I. 14. 



I 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH XI. 95 

Messiah (the meaning is,) that the entire world* 
shall be subjected to him. Bat, in the opinion of 
Rabbi Moses Haccohen before mentioned, (it 
relates) to the sign of the sun (dial,) for thus it is 
written — to inquire into the wonder.f And his 
rest shall be with glory : and thus — (the money, 
or the silver and gold) that was found in the 
house of the Lord4 

11. And it shall be — a second time : With 
respect to the deliverance from Egypt. And be- 
hold, to prove that he refers to the time of the 
Messiah, it is said, that the deliverance of the 
second temple^ was not their entire deliverance, 
for all the tribes, indeed all Judah did not return 
to their land. But those who explain it of Heze- 
kiah (say,) that the people assembled together in 
his reign, when they saw that Jerusalem was 
delivered, and Sennacherib dead, after the death 
of the multitudes that composed his camp. 

12. And he will raise up : As if the Lord 
would raise up an ensign to all the nations, so 
that Israel may see it, and return to their own 
land. Israel means the ten tribes, and he men- 
tions Judah also. 

* Lit., all the world, the whole of it. t 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. 

t He seems to intimate that the temple, the place of Jehovah's 
rest, was to be made glorious by accessions of wealth. The allusion 
is to 2 Kings xii. 10 ; xvi. 8, and the text is imperfectly quoted, as 
is very usual with Aben Ezra. 

§ That is, the deliverance from the Babylonian captivity, which 
was followed by the rebuilding of the second temple. 



96 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

And shall depart : So that Ephraim shall not 
envy because the Messiah is of the family of 
Judah ; and ifHezekiah (be meant,) because his 
kingdom continues. And the adversaries of Ju- 
dah : those who hate her. If (it relate) to Heze- 
kiah, (it may be explained) of the Syrians. But 
behold they were not hostile to Ephraim, so as 
to requite them in the time of Pekah. 

14. 'lfi)9l ; Some say it is to be explained like 
a flying (tl&y) roll ;* but Rabbi Moses Haccohen 
says, that there is no similar use of the word,f 
and that the sense is like iniD 1 they shall rest, 
and the region of country is omitted. Towards 
the west : For they lie west of the land of Israel. 
— Children of the east : These are the Syrians. 
— 'LT mb'ODfa : So that they will stretch out 
their hand to spoil them. And the children of 
Ammon ttfl^fatBft : They shall turn to their obe- 
dience, or under their obedience ; (that is, obedi- 
ence to them.) 

15- fHnm : He will destroy (or cut off,) 
according to the invariable sense of t3*)|-j» so tnat 
Israel shall pass over it on dry ground, and the 
sea shall not retard their rapid return. — 'fc^i : 
This word never elsewhere occurs in scripture. 
The mem is radical, and the meaning is, with 
strength. Those interpreters who have explained 

* Zech. v. 1. 

t Lit., there is no neighbor to it. 



ABEN EZRA ON ISAIAH XI. 97 

it like — if ye will inquire, inquire ye,* are unac- 
quainted with grammar. — The river : That is the 
stream, (or the Nilef) t TH ta in is a transitive verb 
(used of ) two objects. 

16. And there shall be : Here is an exposition 
of the meaning of the destroying and the smiting, 
as the text alludesf to the dividing of the Red 
Sea. 

* Isa. xxi. 12. He means, expositors who attempt to derive it 

from Jl^lH* 

t The original is : I^IJ-J &-|fi. 

% Lit, as nirPn refers - 



5* 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LIT. 13— LIII. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The section of Isaiah's prophecies which is con- 
tained in the last three verses of the 52nd chapter 
and the whole of the 53d, has afforded subject of 
much disputation. It has been interpreted either 
of some individual, or of a body of men personified. 
Of those who adopt the former view, some have 
attempted to apply it to Hezekiah or some other 
Jewish king, to Jeremiah, to Isaiah himself, and 
even to Moses ; but by far the largest proportion 
of Christian expositors, and several also of the 
Jewish, particularly the most ancient, have ex- 
plained it of the Messiah. Those interpreters who 
maintain the latter of the two views above men- 
tioned, pretty generally agree in the opinion, that 
the section relates to the Jewish people, or at 
least the better part of them, although a few con- 
sider it as descriptive of the prophetic body. 

Among the defenders of this last view, Gese- 
nius is the most prominent. He regards the Lord's 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 99 

servant as a personification of the Hebrew pro- 
phets, whose exaltation is predicted in In. 13. 
Heretofore deformed by opposition and sufFe rings, 
they shall still at a future period fill the people 
with joy. Kings shall honor them, when unex- 
pected events, not believed when announced, 
shall have taken place, 14, 15 ; liii. 1. Deserted, 
despised and afflicted, God allowed them to grow 
up among the people, 2, 3, and sent them subjec- 
ted to sufferings, which they bore patiently as an 
offering, 7. But they bore them for the sins of 
the people, which the Lord laid upon them, 4, 5, 
6. They were removed from their sufferings by 
death, and, although innocent, were buried with 
transgressors, none understanding the real design 
of their sufferings, S, 9. As a reward, they shall 
yet live long, see a late posterity, enjoy the spread 
of their doctrine, and divide their portion with 
the mighty, 10-12. 

The Jewish expositors, from the middle ages 
down to the present time, explain the section of 
their own nation. Their existing state of depres- 
sion and persecution, and their future supposed ex- 
altation and supremacy over all other people, con- 
stitute the leading points of the prophecy. Some 
modern Christian expositors have adopted the 
same view. The ancients invariably interpret it 
of the Messiah. 

Tnat the section comprehends a reference to 
the state of the Jewish nation is a view, which 



100 INTRODUCTION TO 

seems to have been favorably regarded by some 
of their expositors at a very early period. The 
Chaldee Targum, a translation of which on this 
portion is subjoined to the following Rabbinnical 
Commentary, although it directly declares the 
Lord's servant to be the Messiah, does evidently, 
in its paraphrastic exposition, introduce the Jew- 
ish nation in close connection with this its prince 
and saviour. The reader will perceive that the 
Messiah and the people are brought forward with 
nearly equal prominence, the transitions from the 
one to the other being altogether unfounded and 
strangely arbitrary. Still it shows us, that in the 
time of its author, a reference to the nation was 
superadded to the Messianic interpretation. This 
interpretation seems gradually to have been su- 
perseded by it, for Origen tells us, that, on his 
alleging passages from this section in argument 
with some learned Jews, he was met by the ob- 
jection, that no individual, but the whole people 
were intended by the prophet ; a view which he 
immediately attacks as unsupported.* 

It would not comport with the nature of this 
brief introduction, to examine at any length the 
grounds on which these various theories of expo- 
sition are attempted to be sustained ; vet I cannot 
suffer the present Jewish interpretation to appear 



* Origen against Celsus, Boo'.i 1, p. 42, 43, Hoeschel's edition, 
4 to. 1605. 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIU. jOl 

in detail, without submitting one or two prelimi- 
nary remarks. 

It is a serious objection to this interpretation, 
applying also to that of Gesenius, that, in the one 
case the national, and in the other the prophetic 
body, are said to sustain vicarious punishment, 
intended to atone for the sins of others. Surely 
the prophets are never represented to us in Scrip- 
ture as propitiating, by any sufferings of their 
own, for the offences of others. The remark ap- 
plies also to the Jewish nation ; and undoubtedly 
it must have been felt as a difficulty by Aben 
Ezra and Kimchi, inasmuch as they put this rep- 
resentation in the mouth of the Heathen, and the 
latter writer in particular guards his reader against 
any admission of its correctness, by ascribing it 
to weakness and incapacity, and declaring it to be 
at variance with other declarations of scripture. 
Neither is there in the whole section a single in- 
timation, that this is merely the language of the 
people and founded in error. On the contrary, 
it plainly appears to be the prophet's own state- 
ment, and the other view of the subject is artificial 
and forced, and not supported by any analagous 
portions of Isaiah's prophecy. A construction so 
wholly arbitrary, is hardly worthy of refutation. 

Most of the objections to the Christian exposi- 
tion of the prophecy arise from the mistaken sup- 
position, that, as the degradation described in the 
section is physical and secular, and consequently 



102 INTRODUCTION TO 

must be literally understood, therefore the exalta- 
tion also must be secular, and consist in superiority 
ostensibly displayed here on earth. And the same 
mode of argument is now resorted to, in order to 
prove a temporal and visible reign of Christ in 
Jerusalem literally understood. But, against the 
application of this principle by Jews, it may be 
sufficient to remark, that Aben Ezra himself who 
advances the argument, admits, that the current 
of older Jewish exposition of liii. 12, ran directly 
the other way, favoring a figurative meaning ; and 
that the words themselves do bear such an inter- 
pretation. And if this be allowable here, it is 
equally so in those other places, where long life 
and numerous progeny are ascribed to the Mes- 
siah. Such interpretations are in harmony with 
other parts of scripture, of which it is sufficient to 
refer to the promise : " instead of thy fathers shall 
be thy children (the Messiah's,) whom thou mayest 
make princes in all the earth. " # Against Gese- 
nius, who also urges a literal interpretation of the 
promised exaltation, it is sufficient to remark, that 
such an exaltation is hardly compatible with the 
character of the prophetic body, and rather implies 
royal distinction. 

This learned writer allows that the Messianic 
exposition was the commonly received one in the 
age of the New Testament, and by its writers. 

*Ps xlv. 17. 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 103 

Such a consideration, however, has but little weight 
with him in support of its correctness. But with 
those who regard the New Testament as a record 
of inspired truth, it cannot fail of receiving the 
profoundest deference, and, even as a source of 
historical evidence illustrative of the opinions of 
its age, it is not to be disregarded. It becomes 
necessary therefore to examine how this sec- 
tion of Isaiah is quoted in the sacred books of 
Christians. 

In appealing to this source of evidence, there 
is one view of it, in which even the Jewish reader 
ought to acquiesce. To the Christian, any argu- 
ment legitimately drawn from assertion, reason- 
ing, or necessary implication, clearly shown to be 
contained in the New Testament, ought to be de- 
cisive. But at present I quote it merely as a his- 
torical record of fact, and as such its claims on all, 
Jews as well as Christians, are equally impera- 
tive. Its antiquity, as a production of the first 
century, exhibiting the views and sentiments of 
its age, and its claims to respect arising out of its 
general character, are incontrovertible. As giving 
views of its own age among the people to whom 
it was originally addressed, of whom its writers 
were a part, no other document can be adduced, 
worthy of superior, if of equal credit. 

In the New Testament, passages are quoted 
from this prophecy, in such a connection as to 
show, that no other application than that to an in- 



104 INTRODUCTION TO 

dividual person, and that person the Messiah, was 
thought of. St. Matthew* employs the language 
of the fourth verse in reference to the Messiah's 
healing diseases. Whatever difficulty may be sup- 
posed to be involved in the application, has nobear- 
ing on the point here under consideration. The 
quotation proves that the writer understood the 
prophecy to refer to the Messiah ; and the writer 
was a Jew, who lived 1800 years ago, and wrote 
especially for the benefit of his own nation. Either 
then we must assume him to have been wholly ig- 
norant of their views on this subject, a supposition 
confuted by the whole tenor of his book, or we must 
grant that his Jewish readers recognized the ap- 
plication of this text in some way to their expected 
Messiah- 
Two other biographers of our Lord's life, them- 
selves also of the Jewish nation, make a similar 
application of the words in the 12th verse : "he 
was numbered with the transgressors. "j- They 
must have known, that their brethren would not 
hesitate to regard the quotation as intended of the 
predicted Messiah. There is nothing in the con- 
nection in which these passages stand, that author- 
izes the expositor to resort to the principle of ac- 
commodation. 

The representation of Jesus as a pattern of pa- 
tience under unmerited suffering is illustrated by 

* viii. 17. 

t Mark xv, 23., Luke xxii. 37. 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 105 

St. Peter,* with an evident view to the language 
of this section. He speaks of the Messiah as 
"bearing" our sins, and "healing us by his stripes," 
quoting the very words of the prophet.f It is im- 
possible to avoid the conclusion, that the Jews of 
his day referred the section to the Messiah. 

St. Paul also, in his epistle to the Romans,! 
applies the first words of the 53d chapter, "who 
hath believed our report, and to whom hath the 
arm of the Lord been revealed?" to the want of 
faith in the Gospel of Christ. This learned dsici- 
ple of Gamaliel, second to none of his race in ac- 
quaintance with Jewish tradition and literature, 
does not seem to have ever heard of the notion of 
"the wise Rabbi Abraham"^, that this is the lan- 
guage of the ignorant Heathen, respecting their 
own unbelief in predictions of Jewish national 
elevation. He cites it without the least hesitation, 
and so also does St. John,|| as a prophetic de- 
scription of want of faith in the true Messiah. Any 
other application of the prophet's language seems 
to have been entirely unknown to them. 

There is yet another place in the New Testa- 
ment in which this section is quoted in direct and 
unequivocal reference to the Messiah. The evan- 
gelist Philip is directed to join the Ethiopian 
nobleman on his return from Jerusalem. He 

* 1 Peter ii. 22, 24. t Verse. 4, 5. t x. 16. 

§ See the reference to Aben Ezra in KLmchi on Is a. liii. 14. 
H xii 38. 



106 INTRODUCTION TO 

hears him reading this prophecy of Isaiah, and is 
addressed with the inquiry, " of whom speaketh 
the prophet this ? of himself, or of some other 
man ?"* That the inspired seer intended to ex- 
hibit a personification of the class of persons to 
which he himself belonged, or of the nation in 
general, is certainly an idea which never occurred 
to the Ethiopian. He understood the prophet 
in accordance with common sense, and most nat- 
urally inquired of what individual he was speak- 
ing. His companion too had no other impression of 
the prophecy, and immediately applied it to the 
Messiah. "Then Philip opened his mouth, and 
began at the same scripture, and preached unto 
him Jesus. "t 

The evidence afforded by the New Testament 
clearly proves, that the Jews of that period ex- 
plained the prophecy of the Messiah. And the 
result thus obtained from this most unexception- 
able source of information, is confirmed by other 
Jewish writings. 

It ought not to escape notice, that Aben Ezra, 
in his introductory remarks on this section, ex- 
pressly declares, that many of the old Rabbies did 
explain it of the Messiah. His objections dis- 
close the very pith and germ of the rejection of 
this application. " What then is the meaning of 
— he was despised and rejected of men? He 

* Acts viii. 34. tv. 35. 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIU. 1 7 

was taken from prison and from judgment?" It 
introduces a suffering Messiah ; an idea which 
the Jewish mind, from before the Christian era 
to the present time, has either rejected with scorn, 
or endeavored to evade, by introducing the fig- 
ment of two Messiahs ; a son of Joseph and a son 
of David, allowing that the former shall be sub- 
jected to suffering and death, but claiming for the 
latter immunity from affliction, and unprecedent- 
ed worldly prosperity and regal honor. And it is 
particularly worthy of observation, how carefully 
the Chaldee Targum applies to king Messiah 
whatever of reward or glory appears in the sec- 
tion, while the afflictions and degradation therein 
depicted are represented as the appropriate pun- 
ishment of his enemies. Still, there were Israel- 
ites at a very early age, whose views of their 
promised anointed one were not so entirely secu- 
larized. From the time that the venerable Simeon 
intimated the sufferings of the son in announcing 
the anguish of the mother,* there have not been 
wanting others of his nation, who knew that, in 
accordance with the revealed will of God, " it be- 
hooved the Christ to suffer,"f and then to receive 
his reward of glory. These Jews did not scruple 
to apply texts in this section to the Messiah, who 
was to atone for the sins of the men and to bear 
their diseases. In the Talmud we meet with the 

* Luke ii. 35. t xxiv. 46. 



108 INTRODUCTION TO 

strange assertion, that the Messiah is called lep- 
rous or the leper, on account of the word smitten, 
(the original of which is sometimes used of lepro- 
sy,) applied to him in liii. 4. " Leper is his name, 
as it is said, but he bore our sicknesses, and our 
sorrows he sustained them, and we regarded him 
smitten, stricken by God, and afflicted."* The 
book Pesikta represents the Messiah as redeem- 
ing mankind, and applies to him the same words. 
The Midrash Tanchuma, an old commentary on 
the Pentateuch, explains the first verse of this 
section of Isaiah, respecting king Messiah, whom 
it describes as more exalted than Abraham, than 
Moses, than the ministering angels. The reader 
may find these and other equally pertinent passa- 
ges, quoted from ancient Jewish books, in Heng- 
stenberg's Christology ;f a work worthy of all 
commendation, for its deep religious tone, its pro- 
found learning, and philological accuracy. 

This section, then, describes the sufferings and 
exaltation of the promised Messiah. There does 
not appear to be positive proof that any other idea 
was intended. If, however, a more comprehen- 
sive view of it can be taken, which while it main- 
tains the Messiah to be the direct and primary 
subject of the prediction, does also disclose in 

* Bab. Tal. Treatise Sanhedrim, fol. 98, 2. The reader may see 
the whole context of this remarkable passage quoted in my Essay 
on Johnvi. p 86-88. 

t Vol. I. p. 434-486, Keith's Translation. 



COxMMENTARY ON ISAIAH Lll. 13— LIIl. 109 

the back ground as it were, of the picture, some 
faint delineations of another, less prominent, but 
still connected with it ; such a view would un- 
doubtedly harmonize with several other prophetic 
representations.* Then, the graphical delineation 
of the great prophet might represent also, though 
faintly, the character and state of the whole pro- 
phetic body ; the marked description of the 
earthly humiliation and celestial dignity of the 
universal king, might trace out, yet not without 
some indistinctness, the similar condition of his 
true Israel, ultimately united to him by a living 
faith. In such a view, the application to the in- 
ferior object must of course be very general. 

A clear and full developement of the princi- 
ple of prophetic interpretation here suggested, 
would extend this introduction to a disproportion- 
ate length, and have no necessary connection with 
its main purpose. The truth of it can hardly be 
questioned by the Christian interpreter, though 
its application requires caution and judgment, 
combined with competent knowledge of holy 
Scripture. 

* The following references may be taken as a specimen of such, 
2 Sam. vii. compared with Heb. i. 5 ; Hosea xi., 1. with Matt. ii. 15 ; 
Deut. xviii. 9-22, with Acts hi. 22, 23 ; and various passages quoted 
in the New Testament from the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah, 
especially Matt. iii. 3, with the parallel places in the other Gospels' 
and in 1 Pet. i.24, 25, from Isaiah xl. 3-8. 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
JARCHI, 

ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 

13. Behold, my servant: behold, in after times, 
my servant Jacob shall prosper ; (that is,) the 
righteous among them. 

14. As many people were astonished at them, 
when they saw their state of humiliation, and 
said to one another, how much more deformed* 
than man is their appearance ! See how dark, 
(contemptible,) is their form compared with that 
of other men ! 

16. So : as we see with our own eyes. — 
"hit 1 p- So now indeed he, his hand shall be 
great, and he shall put down the horns of the 
nations who scattered him.! — '"I^SD" 1 ' They will 
shut their mouths through the greatness of their 
astonishment, for they shall see in him honor such 
as was not told them of any man. — ^^litlH' 

* Lit., corruption. " Marred." Eng. Trans. 

t " So shall he sprinkle many nations." Eng. Trans. 

t Zech. i. 21. 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON JARCHI. m 

they will understand. LIIL 1. Who hath believed 
our report ? Thus will they say to each other : 
if we had heard from the mouth of others what 
we see, it would not have been credible. — And 
the arm of the Lord : to whom hath it been re- 
vealed — up to this time, in greatness and majesty 
like this ? 

2. And he shall grow up like a plant before 
him. Before this people attained such greatness,* 
they were in a very low condition, and grew up 
among their trees (as it were,f) like a sucker 
among suckers of the oaks. — And like a root : 
(which) grows up from a dry ground. — No form : 
at the beginning he had neither form nor glory 4 — 
And when we shall see him, (there is) no beauty 
that we should desire him : and when we saw 
him at the beginning, without (beautiful) appear- 
ance, how should we desire him ? That we 
should desire him, is expressive of admiration. 

3. He was despised and rejected of men. It 
was the usage of this prophet to speak of all 
Israel as one man : (as,) fear not, my servant 
Jacob ; and, now hear, my servant Jacob ;§ and 

* Lit., before this greatness came to the people. 

t I have introduced the expression, as it were, to illustrate what 
I suppose to be the author's meaning. The passage, is not clear. 
Breithaupt, in his Latin translation of Jarchi, says, that one of the 
two manuscripts which he collated read yn^ft, from the land, 
instead of ^I^IV^, fr° m ms trees. 

X " C°meliness.' Eng. Trans. § xliv. 1,2. 



H2 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 

also in this place, behold, my servant shall pros- 
per, he speaks of the house of Jacob, and the 
word S'W 1 expresses prosperity, as — and Daniel 
prospered in all his ways* — T "ltlD)3D , V Through 
the greatness of their shame and degradation, 
they as it were hid their faces from us, they 
bound up the face by concealing (it,) that we 
should not see them, as a wounded man hides 
his face and fears to be looked at 

4. But our griefs he bore: The word *pj$ is 
always used in the sense of but. But now we 
see that his degradation did not come upon him 
through wraih, but he was chastised with chas- 
tisements, in order that all the nations might be 
atoned for by the chastisements of Israel. Sick- 
ness which should have come on us he bore. — 
And we regarded him : we supposed that he was 
hated by God. 

5. But he was not so, but was wounded for 
our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. 
— The chastisement of our peace was upon him : 
there came on him the chastisements whereby our 
peace was attained,! since he was chastised, in 
order that there might be peace to all the world. 

6. All we like sheep have gone astray. Now 
it appears that all the heathen nations have erred. 
tli y*3Bft« H e was entreated through him, and 

* 1 Sam. xviii. 14. 

t Lit., the chastisements of the peaGe which was for us. 

t "Hath laid en him." En£. Trans. 



JARCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 1X3 

was reconciled as respects the iniquity of all of 
us, so that his world should not be destroyed. It 
is a term of supplication, in French esprier.* 

7. He was oppressed (or exacted ;f) behold by 
exactors and oppressors: and he was afflicted, 
(or he answered ;f) by fraudulent declarations, in 
French surparler.i— And he opened not his mouth : 
he bore and was still, like the lamb which is led 
to the slaughter, and like a sheep which before her 
shearers is dumb. The words — he opened not 
his mouth — refer to the lamb led to the slaughter. 

8. From prison and from judgment was he 
taken away. The prophet proclaim s§ that the 
nations will say this in after times, when they 
shall see that he was taken away from the prison 
in which he had been confined by them, and from 
the judgment of the chastisements which he had 
hitherto borne. — And his generation : the years 
that passed along over him ;|| who will relate : 

* The French word now employed is prier. Whether this or 
the other were in more common use when Jarchi wrote, I am un- 
able to say. Breithaupt tells us that one of his manuscripts read 
^P^II'I&IBt'I' which he expresses by desprier. He intimates 
that the text may be corrupted. 

f w^s means to oppress and also to exact ; and J-rh W to afflict 
and to answer. 

t I have followed the reading of one of Breithaupt's manuscripts, 

§ Lit., announces and says. 

|| This is a literal translation, to which I can attach no clear 
meaning. 

6 



114 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 

the distresses which befel him ? — For he was cut 
off: he was (so) at the beginning when* he was 
taken away captive ; from the land of the living, 
that is, the land of Israel. Because for the trans- 
gression of my people, this stroke fell upont the 
righteous among them. 

9. And he gavej with the wicked his grave : 
He delivered up himself to be buried according to 
all, (or, in any w r ay,) that the wicked among the 
nations determined concerning him ; who con- 
demned them§ to death, and the burial of asses in 
the bowels of the dogs. At the sentence of the 
wicked, he preferred being buried to denying the 
livingGod. — And with a rich (man|| in) his death : 
At the sentence of the ruler he delivered himself up 
to all kinds of death which he pronounced against 
him, If because he would not venture to deny * # (God, 
would not) do wickedness and commit violence, 
like all the nations among whom he sojourned. 
And no deceit (was) in his mouth : in venturing 
on false worship with (or to) God.ff 



* Lit, and. t Lit., came to. 

IThe English translation is, "and he made." The literal version 
is, and he gave ; or, they gave : that is, people gave, allotted. Such 
indefinite usage is very common. 
§ The original is plural. 
1! The original is in the singular number. 

1 Lit., decided upon him. ** Lit., take on him denial. 

ttThe printed reading is j-j-^^, but Breitbaupt's maim, 
uscript has fn^vV Which lie prefers. 



JARCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. H5 

10. And it pleased the Lord : the holy blessed 
God was pleased to bruise him, and to turn him 
to good ; therefore he put him to grief: (or he made 
him sick.)— If* and so forth. God says, I will see if 
his soul be devotedf and delivered up to my holi- 
ness, (so as) to return it to me (as) a trespass offering 
on account of all his faithlessness. I will recom- 
pense it to him, and he shall see his seed and so 
forth. EtU& denotes atonement which a man makes 
to one whom he has offended, in French amende ; 
as it is said of (or in|) the Philistines, ye shaU not 
return it empt}^, but shall return to him a trespass 
offering. 

11. Of the travail of his life : He ate and was 
satisfied, and neither plundered nor committed 
violence. — By his knowledge will my righteous 
(servant) do justice to : My servant gave true 
judgment to all who came before him for judg- 
ment. And their iniquities he bore, according to 
the way of all the righteous,^ as it is said — thou 
and thy sons shall bear the iniquity of the sand- 
tuary.ll 

12. Therefore : on account of his having done 
this, I will divide to him an inheritance and lot 

* The English translation has when. 
t Lit., given. 

X Or, it may be translated, as was said by the Philistines. The 
reference is to 1 Sam. vi. 3. 

§ That is, as they are accustomed to do. 
II Num. xviii. 1. 



116 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON JARCHI. 

among many (or, the great :) with the most an- 
cient fathers. — PH^n- He poured out his life 
to death, (as) the word (is used elsewhere ;) 
she poured out (emptied) her pitcher.* — And he 
was numbered with the transgressors. He bore 
chastisements as if he had sinned and transgress- 
ed ; but on account of others he bore the sin of 
the many. — And he made intercession for the 
transgressors : on account of chastisements which 
were inflictedf on him, kindness hath come to the 
world. J 

* Gen. xxiv. 20. t Lit., have come. 

X The reading given by Breithaupt is much more intelligible than 
the ordinary one, and for this and other reasons, 1 have not hesi- 
tated to translate from it. It is as follows : *p'"nfr1 l^p ^W 

fcbiyb rm& nan via iasB- 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID KIMCHI 

ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 



13. Behold, my servant shall prosper. This 
section relates to the captivity* of Israel, and he 
calls them my servant, as he says — thou Israel my 
servant, Jacob whom I have chosen.f He says, 
behold the time shall come that my servant Jacob 
shall prosper, and be exalted and raised up and 
be very high. b^^p, he shall prosper, as — and 
David prospered in all his ways ;$ and thus the 
Targum of Jonathan, (which translates it) hb^"l» 
And he says, shall be exalted and be raised and be 
high, employing a term of elevation in every word, 
because his elevation should be exceedingly great. 
And now I will explain the section according to 

* The Rabbies often use the term captivity to express the dis- 
persed and subjected condition of the Jews subsequently to the de- 
struction of their civil and religious polity by the Romans. 

t Isa. xliv. 1. X 1 Sam. xviii. 14. 



118 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

the explanation of my respected father, whose 
memory be blessed, in the book Haggalui.* 

14. As (many) were astonished : (it is) ex- 
pressive! of wonder, as— astonished among them.J 
He says, as they wondered at the greatness of 
thy humiliation. And they were right to wonder, 
for they saw that he was more deformed than any 
man ; his appearance and his form more than the 
rest of the children of men. And, inasmuch as 
(the prophet) speaks sometimes in the second 
person, as when he says — at thee, — and some- 
times in the third, as when he says — his appear- 
ance and his form — ; this is the usage of Scrip- 
ture in many places, as we have written. And 
the wise Rabbi Abraham explains (the place 
thus,) that — so deformed more than man (was) 
his appearance — are the words of the nations who 
wondered at Israel, and said that their appear- 
ance was more deformed than (that of other) men. 
For how many nations are there in the world who 
think that ihe Jew's form (appearance) is differ- 
ent from (that of) all others. Indeed there are 
some of them who inquire whether a Jew has a 
mouth or an eye. Thus he in the land of Ishmael 
and in the land of Edom. — £-|ntt)fa : The mem i s 
with chirek, and it is an adjective (or concrete ;) 

* This book is said to have been written in opposition to Christ- 
ianity. The word may mean, the revealed. See Wolf's Bibliotheca 
Hebraea, Vol. iii. p. 423. 

t Lit., a matter. \ Ezek. iii. 15. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. H9 

and thus (in) FnViiifan E^H^PIj the separate 
cities,* the ^ nas chirek and (the word is) an ad- 
jective.! — VUfctn is with cholem, on account of 
the Aleph. 

15. /ftp •p.J It conveys the meaning of dis- 
course, like £pft% ^ shall drop, which expresses 
the idea of sprinkling and also of discoursing : (as) 
they dropped water ;$ in the sense of sprinkling : 
they shall not drop — they will drop ;|| in the sense 
of discoursing. Thus ftp means discourse; and 
it is a transitive verb in Hiphil, in French parler. 
He says, as they wondered at his humiliation, so 
shall they wonder at his greatness, and shall 
speak of it continually. — Kings "j^SpiH their 
mouths at him : Even to kings their glory shall 
appear to be great glory : and accordingly he says, 
and the nations shall see thy righteousness and 
all kings thy glory.** i^Spi is a word expres- 
sive of opening, as — skippingff upon the hills — 
which is the opening of the steps in springing, 
and also of shutting, as— thou shalt not shut,ff thy 

* Josh. xvi. 9. 

t That is, the Hebrew word, though a participle, is used like an 
adjective. It is rendered in the English Translation, " separate," 
not separated. 

X So shall he sprinkle. Eng. Trans. § Judg. v. 4. 

|| Mic. ii. 6. The English Translation has " prophesy." 

IT Shall shut. Eng. Trans. ** Isa. Ixii. 2. 

ft Song of Solomon, ii. 8. 

It Deut. xv. 7. It is hardly necessary to say, that in this and the for- 
mer reference, the original word is the same as that employed by Isaiah. 



120 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

hand. And both these ideas may be compre- 
hended* in the word; (as if he had said,) they 
opened their mouth to recount his greatness, or, 
they laid (their) hand upon (their) mouth through 
the greatness of their wonder. — For that which 
was not told them shall they see ; they will see 
more of his greatness than had been told them, 
and more than they had heard will they at that 
time understand of his greatness. 

LIII. 1. Who hath believed : The nations 
will then say, who believed the account which 
we heard respecting him from the mouth of the 
prophets, or from the mouth of those who speak in 
their name ? We did not believe what we now 
see with our eyes. — And. the arm of the Lord for 
whom hath it been manifested — like as it hath 
been manifested for this (people ?) Or, for whomf 
— may be interpreted in the way of (ironical) 
contempt : for whom hath it been manifested as 
it hath been manifested for this (people !) mean- 
ing, who was there for whom the arm of the 
Lord was manifested ?J 



* Lit., explained. 

t He means, the whole clause beginning with these words. 

X The meaning of Kimchi seems to be this ; that the nations 
will either be amazed at the evident manifestation of God's power in 
favor of the Jews, or else they will deride them for the want of it 
with bitter sarcasm. In the former case, the reference will be to 
their expected restoration and prosperity ; in the latter, to their 
previous degradation. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 121 

2. And he shall grow up as a sucker.* Off 
— his branches shall spread ; — as the root which 
is in a dry ground : and he shall grow up as a 
sucker; from him who (or that which) had neither 
form or beauty :} so this (people) was. And in 
my opinion the explanation is (as follows.) Now 
this (people) went up from the captivity in the 
presence of God, and they went up from the 
captivity in an extraordinary way, as if a sucker 
should grow up from a dry ground, or if a root 
of a tree or an herb should be found which sprouts 
in a dry ground, which would be extraordinary : 
so their going up from the captivity was extraor- 
dinary. And the same thing is repeated in dif- 
ferent words. — No form to him: while he was in 
the captivity he had neither form nor honor ; 
meaning ornament, beauty, ilnd we saw him 
and no beauty : and we looked at him, and his 
appearance was not beautiful, but shocking and 
different from the rest of mankind. That we 
should desire him : (that is,) and we did not 
desire him, but loathed him. The negative par- 
ticle, which is here introduced, qualifies both the 
expressions.^ 

* As a tender plant. Eng. Trans. 

t That is, of the same sort as, corresponding with. He means, 
that the original word k^^ sucker, is the same as that rendered 
branches in the passage quoted from Hosea, xiv. 7. (6.) 

t Lit., honor. 

§ Lit., £^«} which he has mentioned (or recorded,) stands at the 
place of two; meaning it qualifies both nj&*"l?2 and irntoHlD' 

6* 



122 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

3. He was despised : It were unnecessary to 
say that we did not desire him ; as the contrary,* 
he was despised in our eyes. — t^TD^ b"iPn 
Who was less (or, more despicable) than the sons 
of men: or the meaning is, he was rejected by 
men, who did not associate with him. — A man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief (or sickness :) 
th^ sorrows and the grief (or sickness, signify) 
the distresses of the captivity ; and the meaning 
of acquainted is, that he knew and was accus- 
tomed to put onf the yoke of the captivity. — 
1D V 'S> "itlDWV As, through great aversion, we 
hide the face from that which we do not like to 
look at; because we loathed him, and did not at 
all regard him. 

4. But our griefs (or sicknesses:) The pro- 
phet Ezekiel writes, the son shall not bear the 
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father 
bear the iniquity of the son ;| how much less 
(then) one man (in general) that of another, and 
how much less a people that of another people. 
If v it be) so, how is this — our griefs he bore; he 
was wounded for our transgressions, and by his 
stripes we are healed? And is not this like that 
which Jeremiah sa}^s in the Book of Lamenta- 
tions? Our fathers have sinned and are not, and 
we have borne their iniquities.^ For that cor- 



* Lit., but also (or even.) t Lit., to put over on hin 

t xviii. 20. § v. 7. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 123 

responds with- — visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
on the children,* and takes placef when the chil- 
dren continue to practice^ the w r orks of their 
fathers, as he says — of them that hate me :§ for 
it is right with God|| that the son should bear his 
iniquity, the iniquity of the father. But what 
Jeremiah says, he says in the language of the 
lamenting: for, in the midst of their distress, 
their words would not be with judgment and 
gravity. But this is what the nations will say; 
truly he hath borne our griefs and such like, is 
their own language : not that Israel did bare the 
iniquity of the nations, but they thought so when 
they knew, as they saw in the time of the deliv- 
erance, that the religion which Israel clung to 
was true, and the religion which they clung to 
was false; and they said, truly our fa: hers in- 
herited lies, vanity and nothingness, and so forth.^" 
They say, according to their own conjecture, if 
so, what was the distress which Israel bore in 
the captivity? behold, it was not on account of 
their iniquity, for they clung to a right religion, 
and we, because we enjoyed** peace, and quiet- 
ness, and rest, and confidence, we clung to a 
false religion. If the grief and the sorrow which 
should have come on us came thus on them, and 

* Exod. xx. 5. t Lit., this is. 

X Lit., hold fast in their hands. 

§ Exod. xx. 5. |] Or, it is a judgment from God. 

IT Jer. xvi. 19. "** Lit., there was to us. 



124 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

if they were a ransom and expiation for us, and 
we did consider them,* when in captivity, as 
stricken and smitten by God, and afflicted by the 
hand of God, on account of their* iniquit}' ; now 
indeed we see that this is not on account of their* 
iniquity, but on account of ours : this is what he 
means, t 

5. And he was wounded. bb"lHfc is a verb 
of the quadriliteral form,$ of the same meaning 
as b n n> t0 l ° e m p ain as a travelling woman, and 
from the same root. And — smitten \\- — corresponds 
with^[ — hath smitten my life down to the ground.** 
'^'iB ID! fa- "l^falb 1 © is like "ftbD* we oil; like 
D n falbtE ilb^H) ^ shall be wholly carried away 
captive ;ff like Epfa-lblE mb}. that is to say mb} 

* In (he original the number is changed from the plural to the 
singular, because the verb here quoted from the fourth verse has the 
singular suffix. 

t Lit., says. The verb to say, both in the Hebrew Bible and 
Greek Testament, is often used to express intention. In this sense 
it appears to be employed in Gal. iii. 16 ; "he does not mean of seeds, 
as of many, but as of one." That is, the promise just quoted relates 
to one particular class of descendants of Abraham, and not to his 
posterity in general. Many commentators have supposed the apostle 
to be reasoning from the use of the singular number in the original 
Hebrew, and have thus embarrassed themselves in a difficulty of their 
own making ; whereas he rather appears to be merely explaining 
its meaning in the passage quoted, with the view of applying it to 
his subject. 

§ That is, it is quadriliteral in the form here used, in Piel. The 
vau it must be remembered is radical. 

|| Eng. Trans. " bruised." IT Lit., of. See note t on p. 121. 

** Ps. cxliii. 3. ft Jer= xiii. 19. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 125 

MfabtDj the whole captivity.* The chastisements 
which should all have come on us came on him.t 
But some explain it from tnitB> peace, namely, 
that we were in peace, and the chastisement 
should have come on us on account of our ini- 
quities, but it came on him. — And by his stripes : 
corresponding with, stripe for stripe,! only the 
one is dageshed and the other not. And the 
(expressions) stripes and stricken are figurative, 
(representing) the distresses of the captivity. And 
the meaning of — we are healed — is like, for I am 
the Lord that healeth thee.§ 

6. All we like the sheep, have gone astray: 
He means to say, like sheep without a shepherd, 
therefore he says, like the sheep, with a patach 
under the caph to denote|| the definite article, for 
it is the stray sheep that has no shepherd. — Hath 
laid, (or, caused to fall :) It is the punishment 
which falls on them, and it is God who causes 
(it) to fall, for he sends the evil on them. The 
meaning of y\$ is, punishment of iniquity; as — 
for the punishment^" of the Amorites is not yet 
full. 



* Amos i. 6, 9. 

t Kimchi considers the original as expressive of completeness. 

t Exod. xxi. 25. § Exod. xv. 26. || Lit., for. 

^ Gen. xv. 16. The meaning of h-ty in this passage is most 
probably iniquity, as our translators have rendered it. Yet there can 
be no doubt that the word is often employed in the sense of punish- 
ment, distress, as the best critics and lexicographers have shown. It 



126 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

7. It was exacted,* and he was afflicted : It 
was exacted in money : like — he exacted the silver 
— he shall not exact of his neighbors.f He was 
afflicted : in body, for they afflicted his body with 
stripes. And notwithstanding}: he did not open 
his mouth. He was not permitted to cry and to 
murmur on account of what we were doing to 
him, but was like a lamb that they lead to slaugh- 
ter, that doth not open its mouth, and doth not 
cry, or like the sheep that is dumb before its 
shearers. And the comparison of the lamb refers 
to him humble in body and to his innocence; 
and the comparison of the sheep refers to exaction 
of the money, which is — according to the com- 
parison — the fleece. And he compares him to a 
^2*\ and not to a *©!2D> on account of its greater 
weakness, <§> for in all species (of animals,) the 
female is weaker than the male : thus Israel in 
the captivity, were exceedingly weak. 'Hfab&O* 



is thus used in Ps. xxxi. 11, (10:) "my strength faileth, because of 
my punishment or grief; " and in 2 Sam. xvi. 12, " it may be that 
the Lord will look on mine affliction." And in this sense^t ought 
to be understood in Ps. xl. 13, (12,) as the connection and parallelism 
evince : " innumerable evils have compassed me about ; — my dis- 
tresses have taken hold upon me." Thus, one objection to under- 
standing this Psalrn of the Messiah is removed. 

* lie was oppressed. Eng. Trans. 

t 2 Kings xxiii. 35. Deut. xv. 2. 

t Lit. with all this. 

§ The former word denotes properly a female sheep that is a 
mother, and the latter a sheep a year old and upwards. Gesen. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 1 2 7 

is dumb : it is milel,*and preterite Niphal. And 
he doth not open his mouth ; neither on account 
of the body (afflicted) nor the money (exacted.) f 
8. From oppression :| From the oppression of 
the captives who were oppressed there, and from 
the sentence of the prisoners which the judges 
passed on them : he was taken away and deliv- 
ered from all this. — And his generation who 
would declare ? who would have said that his 
generation should be so great !§ And it is like — 
who would have said unto Abraham. || — nHllS'" 1 

* This is a Chaldee term denoting that the word is accented on 
the penultima. 

t When the reader calls to mind the intolerable exactions prac- 
tised on the richer Jews in the middle ages, and the most iniquitous 
persecutions to which they were subjected ; he will not be surprised, 
that their commentators should apply such passages as the above to 
outrages, of which they were the unhappy witnesses, if not the 
miserable victims. 

X The English translation is "from prison ;" but that of Kimchi 
is far better. The former involves the Christian exposition, which 
explains the whole chapter of the Messiah, in some difficulty, whilst 
the latter is entirely in harmony with it. The word is used for op- 
pression, trouble, in Ps. cvii. 39 : " brought low through oppression." 
The next word, rendered "judgment" most probably means, judicial 
sentence, as in 2 Kings xxv. 6, " they gave judgment upon him." 
The preposition is not unfrequently used in the sense of by, as in Gen. 
ix. 11, " by the waters of a flood," Job vii. 14, " by dreams, by vi- 
sions." The verb is used of dying, whether by a violent death or oth- 
erwise. If then we allow a hendiadys in the first part of the verse, 
the translation will be as follows : " by an oppressive sentence he was 
taken off." — The correctness of the application to Jesus, the true 
Messiah, needs no illustration. 

§ Lit., to such a degree in greatness. || Gen. xxi. 7. 



128 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

has the sense of speaking : as* — of the work of 
thy hands, I will speak.f And they are of the 
quadriliteral form of verbs quiescent ain.f — For 
he was cut off from the land of the living; when 
he went into captivity from his land, which is 
called the land of the living, as — I will walk be- 
fore the Lord in the land of the living :§ and how 
should we have supposed that he would have at- 
tained such greatness ? — For the transgression of 
my people : every nation will say thus, that on ac- 
count of its transgression the stroke had come on 
them, not on account, of their own transgression. 
9. And he gave.|| They put him to death — 
in the captivily, as they put to death the wicked 
on account of their wickedness, and (yel) he did 
no violence, and did not speak deceit with his 
mouth; and they put him to death, as if he had 
done evil, and they oppressed him with the wicked. 
And the meaning of, and he gave, (is,) that he 
delivered up himself to death ; for they would 
have liberated him, if he would have denied his 
law and turned to their law. But he delivered 
himself to death, and would not deny his law ; 
and thus it says, for thy sake are we killed all the 
day.^f And the meaning of — and with the rich in 

* Lit., and thus. 

t Ps. cxliii. 5. Our English translation has, " I will muse." 

t That is, the middle radical ran is quiescent. 

§ Ps. cxvi. 9. || And he made. Eng. Trans. 

T Ps. xliv. 22. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 129 

his death — (is this,) that indeed he enriched those 
that put him to death on account ef his riches, 
and he was put to death not on account of wick- 
edness which was in him, but on account of riches 
which he possessed. And (as to) the meaning 
°f "PtTltoi : tne word is plural, for they inflicted 
on them many (various) deaths ; some of them 
were burned, and some of them were slain with 
the sword, and some of them were stoned ; and 
they deliver themselves up to all (kinds of death,) 
on account of the unity of God. 

10. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him ; 
he hath put him to grief: In his sorrows and in 
his distresses in the captivity, we only see, God 
was pleased ; for he adhered to his law which is 
the law of truth, and he delivered himself up on 
account of it. Since (it was) thus, we see no rea- 
son for his sorrows, but, either he was seized on 
account of his iniquities, or, God was pleased thus 
to bruise him, and to put him to grief: and the 
pleasure of God we do not know.* ^bn?l» aleph, 
w T hich is the last radical of the verb, is wanting, 
and it is called (or read) like verbs in aleph, al- 
though the root is most frequently with He. — ft& 
'H"\ ; If his soul shall make a trespass offering : 
But this we see, that a good recompense is (given) 
to him on account of the evil which he bore ; and 



* That is, we cannot fully comprehend the motives which led 
him thus to act. 



130 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

since his soul (or life) put itself in the place of a 
trespass offering, as he says — with the wicked — 
now he shall see great posterity : as the prophet 
Zechariah says respecting them — they shall in- 
crease as they have increased ; and he says, I will 
bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, 
and (place) shall not be found for them.* And 
Ezekiel says, I will increase them (with) men like 
a flock. f — He shall prolong his days : as it is said 
in this book, like the days of a tree are the days 
of my people ;f and the prophet Zechariah says, 
and every man with his staffin his hand for great 
age.§ — "And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper 
in his hand :" Behold, in the captivity, it was 
the pleasure of the Lord, to bruise him ; but the 
recompense is this, it shall prosper in his hand; 
God was pleased to increase him, and to benefit 
him exceedingly. 

11. Thus far (we have) the words of the na- 
tions : hereafter the words ofGod.~Of the trouble 
of his soul : (that) which he bore in the captivity, 
he shall have a retribution, because he shall see 
and be satisfied ; that is, he shall see good with 
which he shall be satisfied. — By his knowledge 
shall my righteous servant justify (or make right- 
eous) many : My servant, that is, Israel, as we 
have said in the beginning of this section. And 

* x. 8, 10. + Ezek. xxxvi. 37. 

t Ixv. 22. § viii. 4. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 13 \ 

the exposition of, by his knowledge, corresponds 
with what is written, that the earth shall be full 
of the knowledge of the Lord,* and it is written 
that they shall all know me :f and behold, my 
servant Israel, who was righteous and knew the 
Lord, shall make many nations righteous by his 
knowledge ; as it is written, and many nations 
shall come and say, come and let us go up to the 
mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the 
God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his way 
and so forth.J — And he will bear their iniquities : 
He, by his righteousness, will bear (away) the 
iniquities of the nations, for by his righteousness 
peace and happiness shall prevail in the world, 
even among the nations. 

12. Therefore will I divide to him among 
many : Many and strong ; these are Gog and 
Magog, and the nations that will come with them 
against Jerusalem, as the prophet Zechariah says : 
and the wealth of all the heathen round about 
shall be gathered together, gold, silver, and ap- 
parel in great abundance. <§> And this shall be 
his recompense, because he poured out his life 
unto death; since he delivered up himself unto 
death by the hand of the nations in the captivity, 
he shall have all this glory, and their money shall 
be instead of his money which they took, and 

• Isa. xi. 9. t Jer. xxxi. 34. 

J Isa. ii. 3, or Mic. iv. 2. $ xiv. 14. 



132 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

their life instead of the life of him whom they put 
to death there ; all the wealth of Gog and Magog, 
as it is written. 'n^H? ne poured out his life to 
death ; and thus, she poured out (emptied) her 
pitcher ;* it has the meaning of pouring out, but 
the form of the word is different. — And he was 
numbered with the transgressors ; as we have ex- 
plained (the clause), and he gave with the wick- 
ed his grave. And he bore the 'sin of many ; it 
may be explained of the captivity; and he means 
(by) sin of many, that which the nations sinned 
against him, and he bore and carried their dis- 
tress. And this is like,f and the sin (is in) thine 
own people.]; And he made intercession for the 
transgressors : And although he thus supplicated 
on account of the transgressors who had trans- 
gressed against him, and he was sought by them 
to bless their country ; as it says, and seek the 
peace of the city whither I have carried you away 
captive and so forth.<§> And thus (it is used) in 
Hiphil,|| in the meaning of supplication and seek- 
ing — made intercession to the king,H and — won- 
dered that there was no intercessor.** 

This section may also be explained in refer- 
ence to the time of the redemption, and the in- 
terpretation will be as we have interpreted (the 

* Gen. xxiv. 20. t Lit., according to the way of. 

JExod. v. 16. § Jer. xxix. 7. 

|| Lit., and like it of the grave conjugation. 
T Jer. xxxvi. 25. ** Isa. lix. 16. 



KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 13$ 

words) — and their iniquities he will bear. And 
(some of) our Rabbies explained it respecting 
Moses our master, on whom be peace, and they 
said: because he poured out his life unto death, 
(that is) since he delivered himself up to death, 
as it is said, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out 
of thy book which thou hast written.* And he 
was numbered with the transgressors, because he 
was numbered with those who died in the wilder- 
ness. And he bore the sin of many, because he 
made atonement on account of the work of the 
calf. And he made intercession for the transgres- 
sors, because he sought mercies on account of the 
transgressions of Israel. — But Jonathan interprets 
^"D^ b'OlE" 1 Hi?! thus : m y servant Messiah shall 
prosper: and he explains "ifafatU *VEf&3 (thus:) as 
the house of Israel waited for him and so forth. 

* Exod. xxxii. 32. 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI ABEN EZRA, 

ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIIL 



And behold my servant shall understand. This 
section is very difficult. Our opponents* say, 
that it refers to their God, and they explain — my 
servant — of the body.t But this is unfounded, 
for — shall understand — cannot be said of the 
body, even although the man were living. And 
further, what will be the meaning of — shall see 
seed, shall prolong days — while of the former he 
had none, and the latter is inapplicable to him ! 
And further — he shall divide the prey with the 
strong. And the proof is complete, for (it is said) 
previously, that the Lord will go before them, J 
meaning Israel, and afterwards — sing, O barren,^ 

* He means the Christians. 

t Aben Ezra appears to use this term to express our Lord's hu- 
man nature, and to have had very indistinct ideas of the doctrine of 
the incarnation. Christians never predicated intelligence of the body 
of Christ, but of his soul. Even those sectaries who held that 
the Logos took the place of the soul, did not maintain the absurdity 
here implied. 

tlii. 12. 61iv. 1. 



COMMENTARY OX ISAIAH LII. ]3— L1II. 135 

meaning the congregation of Israel.* And ob- 
serve — my servant — means every (or any) Is- 
raelite in the captivity ; and he is the Lord's ser- 
vant. Many also explain it of the Messiah, on ac- 
count of what our forefathers of blessed memory 
said, that on the day when the house of the sanc- 
tuary was destroyed, Messiah was born, and 
bound in fetters. But observe (that, in this case,) 
many verses would be without meaning ; namely 
— he was despised and rejected by menf — he was 
taken from prison and from judgment — and he 
gave with the wicked his grave : and what (then 
will be) the sense of — he will see seed-— he will 
prolong days? And the Gaon, Rabbi Saadias, 
whose memory be blessed, beautifully interprets 
the whole section of Jeremiah. Thus, the words, 

* Aben Ezra's objections are easily answered. The seed or pos- 
terity mentioned, are not natural but spiritual progeny, and the 
length of days is the everlasting life of the exalted Messiah in 
heaven. The division of the prey i3 figurative of the happy result 
of conquest. He acknowledges that interpreters in general had 
given such a figurative interpretation. See him on v. 12, and the 
note there. And although the section does stand in connection with 
prophecies relating to Israel, both preceding and following, yet it is 
natural and according to Isaiah's manner, to introduce the Messiah 
either speaking or spoken of, inasmuch as he is intimately connected 
with the true Israel. 

t Or, ceasing to be of men, as he afterwards explains it. These 
expressions to which the wise Rabbi Abraham can attach no 
meaning if applied to the Messiah, are sufficiently plain to any 
one who remembers that the prophecies of the Old Testament rep- 
resent him as a man, subjected to humiliation, disgrace, and death, 
preparatory to his exaltation to universal supremacy. 



136 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

he will sprinkle many nations, will mean — by his 
mouth, in the course of his prophecy. Also he 
(Jeremiah) writes in the beginning of his book, as 
(if he were) a suckling before him; for he was 
young when he prophesied.* And the Lord 
caused to meet on him — and he bare the sin of 
many : for thus he writes: remember that I stood 
before thee to ask good for them.f — Like a lamb 
to the slaughter he is brought : and thus he writes 
— but I (was) like a lamb, (or) an ox (that) is 
brought to the slaughter.^ And the words — he 
shall divide the spoil with the strong — may be 
explained in reference to the portion of food and 
the reward which the captain of the guard gave 
him.<§> Still however,|| it is evident to me that 
there is an intimate connection in this portion (of 
Isaiah's prophecy) ; and what reason can be as- 
signed for introducing Jeremiah in the midst of 
consolations preceding and following ? And ob- 

* Aben Ezra alludes to Jer. i. 6, at the same time accommodat- 
ing the words of Isaiah in liii. 2. He means, of course, when Jere- 
miah began to prophesy. 

t xviii. 20. The Hebrew is, to speak good ; and thus also our English 
Translation. It is possible that Aben Ezra may have confounded 
with this text Jer. xxix. 7 " seek the peace of the city." 

t xi. 19. 

§ xl. 5. The perversion of such a text as this of Isaiah to a 
circumstance so trivial as that referred to in the life of Jeremiah, 
is a melancholy proof of the effect of prejudice in degrading the in- 
tellect. Candor compel-; the admission that such degradation is not 
limited to Jewish expositors. 
|| Lit., But. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 137 

serve, he speaks of any servant of the Lord who 
is in the captivity ; or — my servant — is equiva- 
lent to — Israel my servant : the latter view is the 
more accurate.* 

LII. 13. And behold my servant VotB*> shall 
understand ; for he will yet be exalted and raised 
up : JSt^D is Niphal. 

14. As (many) were astonished at thee : like 
— and your enemies shall be astonished at it ;f and 
the sense is, that every one who shall see the ser- 
vant of the Lord shall be astonished ; and the 
word — many — refers to the nations ;% and — so — 
is equivalent to, so it was.<§> 

14. So deformed than man : £iHtt)fa is an adjec- 
tive (or concrete,) and "n^jn is of the same form 
as|| i^rn* And this (that the prophet here states) is 
is a matter well known : for how many nations 
are there in the world who think that the Jew's 
form (appearance,) is different from (that of) all 
others, and enquire whether a Jew has a mouth 
or an eye. Thus in the country of Ishmael and 
of Edom. 

15. So shall he sprinkle : This conveys the 
same idea as shall be exalted and elevated. As 



* Lit., and this is nearer than that ; that is, it approaches more 
closely to the prophet's idea, 
t Levit. xxvi. 32. 

X Lit., the meaning of many (is) the nations • 
§ Lit., the meaning of so is as if he had said, he was so*. 
|| Lit., goes according to the way of. 
7 



138 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

our people were in such a condition,* that their 
appearance was deformed in the eyes of behold- 
ers, so there shall come a time when they will be 
avenged on them : shall sprinkle being equivalent 
to shall pour out their blood.f The kings shall 

* Lit., as our nation was thus. 

t With this brief, though quite intelligible language of Aben Ezra, 
let the reader compare the following passages from the Popular Lec- 
tures on the Prophecies relative to the Jewish nation, by the Rev. 
Hugh M'Neile, M. A., Lond. 1838. " It is copiously predicted, that 
the cup of the Lord's anger shall continue in the hands of the Jews 
until the time appointed of the Lord, not merely to take it out of their 
hand, but also to transfer it into the hands of those who, till then, 
will have oppressed them. Edom, the Assyrian, and Babylon, were 
the great types of all the subsequent enemies of the chosen nation, 
whether Romans, Turks, or professing Christians. The day of Je- 
rusalem's recovery is the day of their ruin. In that day, it will be 
a righteous thing in the servants of the Lord to execute unsparing 
destruction upon his and their enemies. — The Hebrews are now 
kept in dispersion and degradation till the iniquities of the modern 
mystical Edom and Babylon shall be full, and then fury shall be 
poured forth, and vengeance executed both by their own hands, as 
in the case of Joshua- s exterminating conquests, and by a greater 
hand than theirs, stretched out to fight for them." Lect. 1 1. p. 69,70. 

It is evident that by enthusiastic and gloomy dovotees, such rep- 
resentations might be employed in defence of any imaginable de- 
gree of fanatical butchery. To those, however, who believe, that the 
restoration of the Jews to God will rather illustrate the character 
of the true Messiah as him who " shall speak peace unto the Hea- 
then"* it is a consolation lo think, that these sentiments of the pop- 
ular lecturer will hardly do much mischief, as it is not probable that 
they will ever be practically verified. As for our Rabbi, happily he 
wrote in a language not understood by his Christian superiors, who, 
if they could have read his commentary, would probably have made 
him pay dearly for his exposition. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 139 

shut their mouths : and indeed — at him, that is, on 
account of him. — What had not been told them 
shall they see : what had not entered into the heart 
of the nations, (namely,) that Israel should be 
delivered. 

LIII. 1. Who : then the nations will say, who 
believed ? who was there that believed that it 
should be according to this report which we heard ? 
And the arm of the Lord to whom was it revealed ? 
(that is,) of old, as it hath been revealed to these ? 

1. And shall grow up : and lo, whatever Isra- 
elite serves the Lord — or, all Israel — grows up 
before the blessed Lord, like a tender plant or 
(branch ;) like— his branches shall spread.* — And 
as a root oat of a dry ground : which neither 
produces fruit nor becomes large. — He hath no 
form : this is to be explained like — and his form 
(was more deformed) than the sons of men. — And 
(when) we shall see him, (there is) no beauty ; 
the negativef qualifies the word with which it is 
connected, and also the clause that follows! : and 
thus he was, and we did not desire him. It is 
like : a gift in secret pacifieth anger. § 

* Hos. xiv. 7. (6.) 

t See note §. p. 121. 

t Lit, qualifies itself (or, its substance,) and another with it 

§ Prov. xxi. 14. It is particularly worthy of attention, that the 
Jewish commentators presume as a matter of course, that every rea- 
der of their works is familiar with the Old Testament. Hence it is, 
that they frequently illustrate a passage by imperfectly quoting a 
similar one, leaving the omitted portion to be supplied by the memory. 



140 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

3. He was despised and ceased (to be) of 

The lesson that this conveys to Christians, and to not a few Chris- 
tian ministers, I need not state. The intelligent Jew of the middle 
ages read his Hebrew Bible, purchased in manuscript at a great price 
or written out by himself with much labor, without the aid of either 
dictionary or concordance, and read it so often that he became well 
acquainted with its contents, and even with its phraseology, so that 
the citing of a few words suggested to his mind the whole context. 
We have a striking illustration of this method of quoting in the text. 
In order to perceive the applicability of the passage in Proverbs to the 
case in hand, namely, that the negative particle qualifies two things, 
it is necessary to attend to the latter half of the verse, which runs 
thus : " and a reward in the bosom strong wrath." The one word 
"pacijieth " qualifies both clauses of the sentence. The reader will 
not fail to observe several of these imperfect quotations in these selec- 
tions, to which I add from Maimonides, in his Treatise on Repentance, 
two remarkable instances. In chap. vii. sect 8, where he is speaking of 
the prayer of impenitent sinners being disregarded by God, he cites a 
part of Isa. i.15, the omitted portion, however, being essential to the idea 
intended to be conveyed : " the man who (in his impenitent state,) 
was not answered, as it is said, yea, when ye make many prayers 
and so forth." The omitted words, " I will not hear," must be sup- 
plied. And again, chap x. sect. 4, when speaking of love to God 
as the motive to study his law, he remarks : " the wise men say again, 
(he had just before referred to other declarations of theirs,) delighteth 
greatly in his commandments." The last words, which are cited 
also in the same connection in the Talmud, is an imperfect quotation 
from Ps. xii. 1, the former part of the verse — "blessed is the man 
that feareth the Lord, that " — being necessary to give meaning to 
the whole. One of the most striking examples that I have met with 
of this method of quoting or referring to a passage, is in the commen- 
tary of Aben Ezra on Zech. iii. 2 ; "is not this a brand plucked from 
the burning ?" The Hebrew for is not is J*t Vf"T» auc * '* stan ds at the 
commencement of the clause ; on which the commentator remarks, 
" and the sense of *>"|^ j-r is allegorical," meaning, the whole passage 
is so. And in the same waj 1- , does the author of the epistle to the 
Hebrews express himself in xii. 27, immediately after he had quoted 



ABEN EZRA ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 141 

men* : he ceased to be reckoned among men.t — 
A man of sorrows : (meaning,) the servant of the 
Lord. And if (it is intended) of the whole (body,) 
the sense of — man — is like — man of wart : and it 
approximates to the pronunciation (or form) of 
ft^2§, and is construct. The expression — sor- 
row and grief (or, sickness — denotes) the afflic- 
tion of the captivity. — And as what we hide the 
face from || : There are people even in the present 
day, who, when they see a Jew, will hide their 
faces from him : and the meaning is, (or, the rea- 
son is, because) they will not look at him to de- 
liver him. 

from Hag. ii. 6, " yet once I shake not the earth only but also the 
heaven:" " and this, yet once, signifieth and so forth," that is, the 
whole clause of the prophet, beginning with this phrase, expresses 
the subject to which the apostle applies it. Our translation obscures 
the sense, by adding to the original the term word . — Peculiarities in 
the mode of quotation in the New Testament, whether they relate 
to the language or the sense, may almost always be illustrated by 
reference to Jewish writings. 

* " Rejected of men." Eng. Trans. 

t Comp. Ps. xxii. 7. (6.) " But I am a worm and no man." 

1 1 presume Aben Ezra means to say, that the singular noun 
which is employed in the original, is used collectively. In Isa. iii. 2, 
and Ezek. xxxix. 20, the word is doubtless susceptible of snch a sense. 
But even there it evidently may denote an individual. Still it is well 
known, that singular nouns are often understood collectively. 

§ The author probably means, that the original word ^}fcO> ^ rom 
which comes ufcfcDfaj is somewhat similar in its vowel sounds, or in 
its form to Q j£^- — If the language, brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio, 
is applicable to any writer, it is most especially so to Aben Ezra. 

|| " And we hid as it were our faces from him." Eng.. Trans. 



142 CGMMENTARY OF RABBI 

4. But:* the chief pointf of the verse, (or, the 
beginning of the portion,) is this ; we were af- 
flicting, (or, making sick,) and he was bearing. 
Our sorrows : — those by which we caused him to 
sorrow — he was sustaining, and we supposed that 
he was smitten, yyy*2 : from the same root as — and 
behold the plague is at a stand in his sight.f — 
Smitten of God : construct (meaning,) whom the 
Lord hath smitten and afflicted. The proof that 
the sickness ought to come on us is clear, because 
our law or (religion, $) is wholly vain, and they 
have come on Israel, whose law is the law of 
truth : and the proof (is in the admission^,) all we 
like sheep have gone astray. 

5. But he was wounded: from the root 3bn» 
And the chastisement which shall perpetuate our 
peace, even it (was) on him : the proof (of which 
is in the words,) and by his stripes we are healed. 
And the meaning of wounded (is this :) that the 
Lord will visit the nations because they distress- 

* " Surely." Eng. Trans. 

t The original is m^ which bears either of the senses given 
above. In favor of the latter it may be remarked, that on the 9th 
verse, the Rabbi uses the phrase }"l^n*))-TS>'n afterwards or at last, 
which may be antithetic to l rJ)sx l -|> the first or beginning. He may 
intend to say, that at first Isaiah simply represents the nations as 
afflicting and the Jews as bearing ; but afterwards he represents the 
nations as recognising the truth, that the afflictions of the Jews were 
beneficial to themselves. 

t Levit. xiii. 5. The Hebrew reader need not be reminded that 
the words smitten and plague are of the same root. 

§ Meaning, that of the nations, in whose person the author sup- 
poses the prophet to be speaking. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH L1I. 13— LIII. 143 

e& Israel; and thus the Targum of Jonathan on 
—and I will cleanse their blood which I have not 
cleansed * And the meaning of— the chastise- 
ment of oar peace— (is this :) It is well known 
that during the whole period of Israel's distress m 
the captivity, there shall also be peace to the na- 
tions. Dost thou not perceive that it is written 
respecting the time of the deliverance— and there 
shall be a time of trouble?! and again, it is 
written, when the angel replied that all the earth 
sitteth still, and is at rest, and the angel answered, 
how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusa- 
lem?! The meaning is, that during the whole 
period of rest to the nations, thou wilt not have 
mercy on Jerusalem. 

All we : At last they will recognize the truth. 
And observe (that) this is intimately connected 
w i t h— stricken, smitten of God; and it is like 
(what we read elsewhere,) our fathers have inher- 
ited lies.§— Caused to meet (or light :||) from the 
same root as— and he lighted on a place-lf— p 

* Joel iv. (iii.) 31. The Targum is : I will avenge their blood 
on the nations. But it is difficult to see what bearing this can have 
on the meaning of wounded in the text, or on anything that can 
possibly be implied. 

tDanxii.1. tZech.i.11,12 

6 Jer xvi. 19. The reader will bear in mind that Jeremiah puts 
this language in the mouth of Gentiles. He will remember too that 
Kimchi speaks of this supposed sentiment of the Gentiles as erro- 

neous. 

|| Hath laid. Eng. Trans. 

<r Gen. xxviii. 11. In both texts the original word is the same. 



144 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

is here equivalent to punishment ; as — there shall 
no punishment happen unto thee — for the punish- 
ment of the Amorites is not full — and the punish- 
ment of the daughter of my people is great.* — 
But some compare it witht — and do not make in- 
tercession to me — and say, that the exposition of 
the *n$ of us all, should be according to its liter- 
al sense,! and that the meaning is, he will inter- 
cede in order that there may be peace to the world, 
agreeably to (what we read,) — and seek the 
peace of the city.<§> The word *ny will however 
be in harsh construction || with -Q 2*^351 • 

7. tB}!D is in Niphal. Yet he opened not his 
mouth. This requires no explanation, for every 
Jew in the captivity is in this situation : for in the 
time of his affliction he will not open his mouth to 
speak ; how much less the righteous man among 
them, who will not devote himself to the world, 
but to the service of God, and will not flatter^ 
prince or great man, in order that he may stand 
up for him in the breach when man rises up against 
him. — And he will not open his mouth; meaning, 
at any time. 

* 1 Sam. xxviii. 10. Gen. xv. 16. Lam. iv. 6. Compare note IT on 
p. 125. 

t Lit., there are some who say it is derived from. Jer. vii. 16, where 
in the original the word is the same. 

t That is, iniquity. § Jer. xxix. 7. 

|| Lit., go hard. He means, if it be understood in the sense of 
iniquity. IT Lit., know, recognize. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 145 

8. From prison : Now behold the Lord deliv- 
ers Israel and the truth* of the righteous ones of 
Israel. — He was taken: The Lord took him from 
prison, him who had been imprisoned by a judg- 
ment, a vindictive judgment. — And his genera- 
tion who shall declare ? like — or speak (declare) 
to the earth and it shall teach thee :f it means, who 
was there that told the men of his generation that 
it should be thus ? and he was long ago :{ as (it is 
said) he was cut off out of the land of the living. 
For the transgression of my people: (These are) 
the words of every nation (who will say) this, 
that the stroke which fsli upon Israel was on ac- 
count of our transgressions : as — he was wounded 
for our transgressions ; and this is undoubtedly the 
meaning, and for the transgression of my people 
the stroke will come upon them : for the word 
"Itob is equivalent to ftn>§ 

9. And he (or they) gave : Some explain this 
of those among the captives who died, and some 

* The Hebrew is snftfcjjff- If pointed thus, £")/2^!n> it means 
the truths and most probably refers to their fidelity or true religious 
character ; bat if pointed thus, £"\?25$n> ** w ' u signify the nations. 
I prefer the former punctuation, as the latter word can hardly be 
used to express the Jewish people. 

t Job xii. 8. 

t I do not understand this. The Hebrew is hp'-T ""ih^ NfclJ"P» 
which may be rendered, and it teas long ago, or, though it has 
been for a long time. 

§ That is, the prophet uses the one word for the other, because 
they are of the same meaning, the former being more poetical. 



146 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

say, that the word "Plmfal (in his death,) is from 
the same root as — and thou shalt tread upon 
"Ifa^illfai (their high places,) and that it refers to 
the mausoleum,* thus making it expressive of — 
his grave. — And with the rich, -p 1 *^ ; equivalent 
to the wicked, n^EI : and the meaning is, the 
nations, who are rich in comparison with Israel. 
It is evident to me, that the sense of the verse 
(is this,) that during the whole period in which 
Israel was distressed in the captivity, he was wil- 
ling to die with the nations ; as (Samson says,) 
let me die with the Philistines.! And the scrip- 
ture says — and he gave — referring to his will ; 
like what is said of Balak, and he warredj against 
Israel. And the evidence that this relates to the 
greatness of the distress is what is said (immedi- 
ately afterwards,) because he had done no vio- 
lence. For the nations will distress Israel with- 
out cause, and not on account of (airy) act which 
they had committed, or evil word that they had 
spoken. The interpretation may comprehend 
both the views given. § And if it be objected, is it 
not £"nM?|| ( tne punctuation) is not changed in the 

* Lit., the building which is over the grave. 

t Judges xvi. 30. 

X Meaning, it was his wish and effort to make war. Josh. xxiv. 9. 

§ Lit., for it may be explained in reference to both subjects (or 
forms.) That is, it may comprehend death and mausoleum both, 
according to the punctuations in "llj^nft^i an d -s ^*> J~) "f ^3 ^_. 

|| That is, the Beth is pointed with feheva, and not, as in the 
other word, with Kametz. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIU. 147 

expression -ifti^lfai b^» # and why is it changed 
in the word "p£mfa^ ? it may be replied, that this 
word has two forms,t as — eunuchs of Pharaoh — 
and — eunuchs of the king.f 

10. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him: 
(in form) like — to speak peaceably unto him ;§ of 
the piel conjugation, with dagesh. — ^bntl' He 
hath put him to grief, (or made him sick :) of (verbs) 
in He. It follows the form of (those in) Aleph ; 
and we find also — its sicknesses (rp&Obntl>) with 
which the Lord bath made it sick, (Plblrll) And 
behold, he was pleased to bruise him ; to chastise 
him in the captivity. — When his soul will make 
an offering for sin ; the fear of the Lord will be 
upon him.^j He shall see children and prolong 
days ; for he shall see, he and his children, the 
salvation (deliverance,) of the Lord. And observe, 
he is speaking of thatj generation which will be 

* He means the punctuation here is not altered, the^Beth does 
not change its Karaetz into Sheva. 

t Lit., goes according to two analogies. 

t Gen. xl. 7 ; Esther vi. 14. The English translation in the latter 
passage has " chamberlains," but the Hebrew word in both places is 
the same except that the one has Sheva and the other Kametz, thus 
making the two forms referred to. On account of this difference 
Aben Ezra cites the words as analogous to the two under con- 
sideration. 
^ § Gen. xxxvii. 4. He means that the form of "f^^TT m Isaiah 

is like ■n'ri'fl m Genesis. $gjj$l 

: - r s_~, -J3 

|| Deut. xxix. 21. (22.) 

1 That is, he will be under the influence of true religion. 



148 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

converted to the Lord, to the law of the Lord, 
when the time arrives, the coming of the Messiah. 
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
band : this relates to religion, (and it means,) that 
the nations shall be converted to the law of the 
Lord. 

11. Of the travail, (labor:) It means the re- 
ward which he shall receive on account of what 
he hath borne. He shall see his desire ; or, he 
shall see good until he is satisfied; because by 
his knowledge he will make many righteous ; and 
these are the nations whom Israel will teach to 
keep the law. And the meaning of — he shall 
bear their iniquities — is, that Israel shall partake* 
of the distress of the nations on acconnt of the 
multitude of their iniquities; not as they acted 
towards Israel. f Or else the meaning is, that 
they (Israel) would intercede with God on ac- 
count of the nations, according to the meaning of 
— and if the family of Egypt go not up.J This 
is evident to me, for it is proved by the subse- 
quent verse. 

12. Therefore : All the interpreters say that 

* Lit., be associated with. 

t That is, the nations did not participate in or sympathize with 
Israel's distress. 

X Zech. xiv. 18. This is an imperfect quotation. The author 
appears to have in mind the punishment threatened against such as 
shall refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, to avert which 
Israel is supposed to intercede. See the context in Zechariah. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 149 

this verse is figurative, and relates to those who 
died on account of (the doctrine of) God's unity ; 
and that the term many (D^i^l) is equivalent to 
great, (tpb"n}>) as — to every great man* of his 
house — and refers to the prophets, and — the strong 
— to the fathers: and (thus) the meaning will be, 
that the portion of those who have died on account 
of the unity will be with the prophets. Now we 
know that this thing is (indeed) true, but (the 
exposition) does not accord with the meaning of 
the section.f It is evident to me, that the sense is 
this : therefore I will give to Israel a portion, spoil 
and plunder of many nations ; and from the strong, 
like — as soon as I go out from the city .J On ac- 
count of this (he shall have) a reward, because he 
poured out his soul to death. Some say that it cor- 
responds with fi^ and denotes publicity.^ But 

* Esther i. 8. The English translation is — '"to all the officers;" 
but the version of Aben Ezra is much nearer the Hebrew, which is 

t I presume the author means, that, as the section in general 
describes literally the distress of Israel, the language by which the 
subsequent happiness and reward are described ought also to be 
understood literally, and therefore must not be explained simply of a 
future spiritual reward. It is important, however, to note his admis- 
sion, that commentators had generally so understood it, inasmuch as 
this figurative meaning developing a spiritual reward, is the only one 
which accords with the Christian interpretation. 

I Exod. ix. 29. This reference is to show, that j*-^ has the force 
of a preposition, and means from. 

§ He means, that some interpreters explain J-r*-i y in this place to 
make bare, expose, like H^H, to reward, disclose, uncover. 



150 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 

it is plain to me that it is like — and she poured out 
her pitcher,* though the forms are different : and 
evidence (may be found in the text) — pour not 
out my soul,f in the same meaning as ^S 1 ©* — 
ft&SI means the same as E21 and with. — Trans- 
gressors, because they transgressed against the 
Lord : thus were Israel accounted. — And he 
bare the sin of many: for their distress procured 
peace, (happiness,) for all the nations, and the 
sin which they should have borne was borne by 
Israel. — And for the transgressors : on account of 
the transgressors he interceded with the Lord, 
agreeably to — seek the peace of the citj.% The 
expression — for the transgressors — is to be ex- 
plained of the nations. 

I have thus interpreted to thee the whole sec- 
tion. And in my opinion, the expression, behold 
my servant shall understand, refers to him of 
whom the prophet says, behold, my servant, I 
will uphold him, — and he said to me, thou art my 
servant.^ And so it is written — by his know- 
ledge shall my righteous servant make many 
righteous : and it is written, I gave my back to 
the smiters.|| — And the deep sense is as I have 

* Gen. xxiv. 20. 

t Ps cxli. 8. In our English translation — " leave not my soul 
destitute." But the Hebrew word is the same as that in Isaiah, and 
the translation of Aben Ezra is quite exact. 

t Jer. xxix. 7. § Isa. xlii. 1. xlix. 3. 

|| Isa. 1. 6. 



ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 151 

pointed out through half* of the book, and observe 
all the divisions are closely connected. 

* Does he mean, through the latter half or portion of Isaiah, from 
the fortieth chapter to the end? The phrase, — servant of the Lord 
— occurs exclusively in this part of his prophecies. 



TRANSLATION OF THE TARGUM 

ON ISAIAH 111. 13— LIII. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The word Targum means interpretation, and 
is employed to designate certain translations or 
paraphrases of the Old Testament into Chaldee. 
In very ancient periods, the Bible was translated 
into the vernacular languages of Jews who lived 
out of Palestine, and had lost, either partially or 
wholly, their knowledge of Hebrew. The Sep- 
tuagint was prepared for those who were accus- 
tomed to the use of Greek, and the Targums for 
such as had gradually substituted the Chaldee 
dialect for their own. The most celebrated of 
these paraphrastic translations are those of Onke- 
los on the Pentateuch, and Jonathan Ben Uzziel 
on the prophets. In addition to the books to which 
we are accustomed to apply this term, the Jews 
comprehend under it Joshua, Judges, Samuel, 
and Kings. These they call the former prophets, 
in contradistinction to the others, denominated the 
later. According to the best Jewish accounts, 



INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM. 153 

Onkelos flourished a short period before Christ, 
with whom Jonathan was nearly contemporaneous. 
Some critics have endeavored to prove that the 
translation ascribed to Jonathan is not of earlier 
date than the third or fourth century ; and that 
the diversity of its style, in different places, shows 
it to be the work of several authors. But Gese- 
nius, who has examined this subject with his ac- 
customed accuracy, denies that this representa- 
tion is well founded, and maintains that the asser- 
ted diversity of style is nothing more than the 
adaptation to different kinds of composition in the 
Hebrew Bible itself, whether historical, didactic, 
or poetical, judiciously made by the one translator ; 
and that there is no good reason to deny the Tar- 
gum the antiquity which the Jews ascribe to it. 
The substance of his remarks is as follows. 

The reasons which have been alleged against 
the antiquity of this Targum, are not satisfactory. 
44 Were it as old as its advocates maintain, (says 
Eichhorn,) it could not have been unknown to the 
fathers : — it contains fables which came into cir- 
culation in a later age : — it attempts to exclude 
the Messiah from the places which the Christians 
explained of him,* which proves that controver- 
sies against the Christians were not unusual at the 
time of its composition; — not to urge the consid- 
eration, that a Chaldee version was unnecessary 

* Isa. liii ; Ixiii. 1 — 5. 



154 INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM 

at the period assigned to it." The first and last 
of these reasons carrv their own refutation along 
with them : for the fathers in general had no knowl- 
edge of Jewish works, and the prevalency of the 
Chaldee dialect in the time of Christ shows that 
such translations, which were also interpretations, 
were then undoubtedly necessary. That the ex- 
planation of Isa. liii., lxiii. 1-5, which applies 
these places to the Messiah, is set aside, is utterly 
unfounded. In the former it is expressly given, 
and with the greatest arbitrariness ; and if this is 
not the case as to the latter, the omission need not 
be attributed to any polemic influence, especially 
as it cannot be proved that the Christians attached 
extraordinary value to this passage as refer- 
ring to the Messiah. At the same time, the Tar- 
gumist agrees with the Christians in most of the 
other places which they explained of the Messiah, 
particularly chapters ix. xi. xlii. The introduc- 
tion of the later Jewish fables would be a most 
serious difficulty, were it possible to show with 
any certainty the time of their origin. Morinus 
appeals to the name Armillus as applied to 
Antichrist in Isa. xi. 4. But the general idea of 
Antichrist is more ancient than the New Testa- 
ment, and it cannot be proved that the name 
Armillus, the origin of which is unknown, must 
be so late. Until stronger evidence therefore is 
alleged for the contrary, I shall adhere to that 
designation of the age of this Targum which is 



ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. I55 

marked out by tradition : especially as the Chal- 
dee is pure and like that of Onkelos ; the doctrine 
which it contains respecting the Messiah seems 
rather to be earlier than the New Testament than 
later; and no definite trace of the government 
having been overthrown appears in it,* although 
the author has intermingled references to his own 
times. 

With more certainty still may the unity of this 
Targum, which many late critics have denied, 
be defended. " The work (it is said,) is altogether 
unequal; the historical books are translated pretty 
literally, but the poetical are paraphrased, and 
additional ideas often introduced. This shows 
the version to have been composed by various 
authors." Not necessarily : for the author does cer- 
tainly interpret the historical parts of the prophet- 
ical books, for the most part, simply and literally, 
while he paraphrases the poetical portions of the 
historical books, and explains the figures contained 
in them ; so that this supposed inequality rather 
seems to belong to his manner. In the degree in 
which he acts the paraphrast, he is not entirely 
uniform ; but it would be very unreasonable to 
ascribe the work on this account to various authors, 
since the same is true of the Septuagint. This 
want of uniformity is rather to be attributed to the 



* The language in liii. 5, may as well be supposed to refer to the 
destruction of the temple by the Chaldeans as by the Romans. 



X56 INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM 

inequality and variable manner of the translator. 
If some passages, which are probably interpola- 
tions, are excluded, I must maintain, that, even 
with the real varieties which appear in particular 
parts, the whole translation is the work of one 
author. 

The learned writer then proceeds to examine the 
character of this version, which he exhibits in the 
following particulars : 

1. This paraphrast often understands his text 
philologically and exegetically with perfect cor- 
rectness, and expresses its meaning, especially in 
historical representations, with literal accuracy ; 
but when the language is figurative, he attempts, 
in his paraphrastic way, to elucidate it, either by 
explaining the figures or by introducing something 
additional. 

2. But not unfrequently his exposition is en- 
tirely capricious. The grammatical interpretation 
is abandoned, the true meaning of the figures mis- 
conceived, and although the very words of the 
text may be repeated in the paraphrase, this is 
done in the most arbitrary connection, and some- 
times with an overwhelming flood of fictitious 
trifling. 

3. He retains for the most part the geogra- 
phical names, like Onkelos, and but seldom sub- 
stitutes the modern terms. When he does, how- 
ever, he is often correct. 

4. In common with many ancient translators, 



ON ISAIAH LIL 13— LIII. 157 

the Alexandrine and Saadias particularly, he wil- 
lingly rejects those anthropopathic terms* and other 
expressions used of God, which might give offence. 
Both of them appear to him inconsistent with the 
dignity of God and of the sacred scriptures. 

5. Another character of this version, as I have 
already intimated, is, the introduction of matter 
not in the text. Much more abundantly than the 
Alexandrine translator, Jonathan arbitrarily intro- 
duces into his paraphrase views which belong to 
a period later than that of his author ; also Rab- 
binical sayings and Jewish theology of his own 
time, and often in such a way as to show but too 
plainly the Rabbi of the Pharisees and the learned 
scribe. 

Under this last head, Gesenius remarks, as 
follows. The Targumist explains " the servant 
of God" in Isa. xlii. 1 , exactly like Matthew in 
xii. 17-21 ; showing, that he regarded this place 
as prophetic of a Messiah, who should be the 
comforter of the poor, and the instructor of the 
heathen. And in the same way does he explain 
it in xliii, 10 ; while, in other places, he interprets 
it of the people, and often in the same section. So 
especially, in the celebrated passage lii. 13-liii., 
where what is said of the distressed state of the 
servant of God, is referred to the people, and what 

* That is, language used in relation to the Deity, which is 
founded on human analogies. 



158 INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM 

is announced respecting his elevation, or at least 
what he thus considers, is applied to the Messiah. 
In his doctrine, from the reception of which re- 
sults happiness, and in the intercession for the 
people which is ascribed to him, we have evi- 
dently the prophetic and high priestly offices, 
which, together with the kingly, the Jews thus 
attached to the character of the Messiah, and 
which, in the epistle to the Hebrews, we find 
committed to Christ. — The importance of these 
statements consists in this : they prove that the 
views of the Talmudist, and, we may say, of the 
better class of Jews of his age, on these points, are 
entirely coincident with Christian doctrine; and 
consequently, that later Jewish expositions wholly 
different, are an abandonment of the old, orthodox 
exposition. 

These characteristics are all illustrated by 
ample references, and in such a way as to show 
that the author has examined the subject with 
great care and industry. The original German 
may be found in the introduction to his commen- 
tary on Isaiah, sect. 1.1, p. 65-80 ; and an English 
Translation, in a volume entitled, Essays and 
Dissertations in Biblical Literature, by a Society 
of Clergymen, published by G. & C. & H. Car- 
vill, New York, 1829, 8vo. p. 412-426. 

The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are 
exceedingly important in the controversy between 
the Jews and Christians. The reader may find 



ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 15 9 

a list of places in the old Testament, explained of 
the Messiah by these very ancient Jewish inter- 
preters, in Buxtorf's Talmudic Lexicon, under 
that word, col. 1268-1273. 



TARGUM OF JONATHAN BEN UZZIEL 

ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 



LII. 13. Behold, my servant, Messiah, shall 
prosper; he shall be exalted, and become great, 
and be very strong. 

14. As the house of Israel expected him many 
days, who was mean among the nations ; — their 
appearance and their splendor compared with 
those of* the children of men. 

15. So shall he scatter many nations, on ac- 
count of him kings shall be silent, they shall put 
their hands upon their mouth, because what they 
did not tell them have they seen, and what they 
did not hear have they understood. 

LIII. 1. Who hath believed this our report, and 
the strength of the arm of the power of the Lord, 
now to whom hath it been revealed ? 

2. And the righteous onef shall be magnified 

* Lit, than. 

t The word in the original is in the singular number. 



TARGUM OF JONATHAN BEN UZZIEL. 161 

before him, lo, like suckers which flourish, and 
like a tree which casteth forth its roots along the 
streams of water, thus the holy one shall increase 
in the land which had need of him. His appear- 
ance will not be a common appearance, and his 
fear* not the fear of an ordinary man, but his 
splendor will be holy splendor, so that every one 
who shall see him will contemplate him, (or re- 
gard him with attention.) 

3. Therefore he will be for contempt, and (or 
but) he will destroy the glory of all kings. They 
will be weak and afflicted, lo, like a man of sor- 
rows and destined to sicknesses (or infirmities,) 
and when the face of majesty (shekinah,) was 
withdrawn from us, we were despised and not 
regarded. 

4. Therefore on account of our sins will he 
supplicate, and our iniquities shall be pardoned 
for his sake, and we were regarded as bruised, 
smitten from before (by) the Lord and afflicted. 

5. And he will build the house of the sanctu- 
ary, which was profaned on account of our sins, 
was delivered up on account of our iniquities, and 
by his doctrine peace shall be increased on us, 
and when we shall obey his word, our sins shall 
be pardoned us. 

6. All we like sheep have been scattered, we 

• That is, the fear which he will excite ; as in Ps. xc. 10 — 
" according to thy fear " — may mean, according to the reverence 
with which men regard thee. 



162 TARGUM OF JONATHAN BEN UZZlEL 

have departed each one towards his way, and it 
pleased the Lord* to pardon the sins of us all on 
his account. 

7. He prayed and was answered, and before 
he opened his mouth he was accepted. He will 
deliver up the strong of the nations like a lamb 
for a victim, and like a sheep which is dumb be- 
fore its shearers, and in his presence there is none 
that speaketh a word. 

8. From chastisements and retribution, (or 
punishment,) he will bring near our captivity, and 
the wonders which shall be done for us in his 
days, who is able to recount ? for he will take 
away the dominion of the nations from the land of 
Israel ; sins which my people were guilty of shall 
extend to (that is, affect) them. 

9. And he will deliver up the wicked to hell, 
and the rich in substance who acted violently with 
destructive death ;f that they who commit sin 
may not live, neither speak deceitj with their 
mouths. 

10. And it was the pleasure of the Lord to 
melt and to purge the remnant of his people, in 
order to purify their souls from sins : they shall 
see the kingdom of their Messiah, they shall in- 
crease sons and daughters, they shall prolong 

* Lit , and from before the Lord there was pleasure, 
t That is, who inflicted violent death. 

t Buxtorf, followed by Walton, reads V^ZO* deceits ; the Bom - 
berg Bible and others 'n5 bi, !!^ follies. 



ON ISAIAH LII. 13— LIII. 163 

their days, and, doing the law of the Lord, by his 
pleasure they shall prosper. 

11. From subjection to the nations he will free 
their souls ; they shall see the punishment of their 
enemies ;* they shall be satisfied with the plunder 
of their kings. By his wisdom he will purify the 
pure, (or justify the just,) in order to subject many 
to the law, and on account of their sins he will 
supplicate. 

12. Therefore will I divide to him the plunder 
of many nations, and the wealth of strong fortified 
places: he shall divide the booty, because he de- 
livered up his soul to death, and subjected the 
rebels to the law, and on account ot the sins of 
many he will supplicate, and rebels shall be par- 
doned on his account. 

* Or, the vengeance taken on them. 



COMMENTARY OF KIMCHI, AND TAR- 
GUM OF JONATHAN, 

ON HOSEA, I.— II. 1. 



INTRODUCTION. 



This chapter has been selected, partly on account 
of its obscurity, and partly to afford an opportu- 
nity of presenting a view of it, which is at least 
as old as the Christian era, and has been main- 
tained by some of the ablest expositors both of an- 
cient and modern times. 

Few thoughtful and serious persons, it is pre- 
sumed, can read the first and third chapters of 
Hosea, regarding them at the same time as con- 
taining a plain statement of real actions done at 
the command of God, without some feeling of dis- 
satisfaction. The first and most natural impres- 
sion is, that the course of action there enjoined is 
inconsistent with the nature of God and the char- 
acter of his prophet. The submission of an im- 
plicit faith, which does not dare to look below the 
surface, may acquiesce in the general principles, 



COMMENTARY ON HOSE A I— II. 1. 1G5 

that such is the authoritative statement, and that 
whatever the divine being commands must agree 
with the divine will ; but the faith which, while it 
believes, does also " search what or what manner 
of"* representation is herein contained, is una- 
voidably thrown back on the inquiry, — are there 
not certain things which the divine being cannot 
command, because they are necessarily at vari- 
ance with his moral character? It is impossible 
to doubt, that the fountain of right never can enjoin 
the commission of what is essentially wrong : " he 
cannot deny himselff If therefore, it be possible 
to take such a view of these and other similar 
portions of holy scripture as shall remove this 
difficulty, and at the same time harmonize with 
other representations in the prophetic books, it 
would seem that a strong presumption exists in 
favor of its truth. Such a view is presented in 
the following commentary and paraphrase. 

The accounts in these chapters of Hosea have 
been regarded by some as narratives of real and 
sensible actions ; by others as mere parabolical 
fictions intended to illustrate the defection of Is- 
rael from the true God ; and again by others, as 
expressive of what took place in the mind of 
Hosea, while under the influence of the prophetic 
impulse, or to use the ordinary language, to de- 
note what he saw and did in prophetic vision. 

* 1 Pet. i. II. t 2 Tim. ii. 13. 



166 INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMENTARY 

The last view is the most probable, and is given, 
together with other and somewhat similar instan- 
ces, by Maimonides, in his Moreh Nevochim, Part 
ii. chap. 46 ; a translation of which may be found 
in a subsequent part of this volume. 

It would not at all comport with the brevity 
of this introduction, to discuss the whole subject 
thus suggested to the reader's consideration. I 
will only remark, that the words employed to 
designate the woman whom the prophet is directed 
to marry, must have led the Jewish reader to 
suppose that no real personage could have been 
intended. Kimchi indeed tells us that Gomer, 
the daughter of Diblaim, was a well known harlot 
of that period. But this could be nothing but 
conjecture. The meaning of the words seems to 
indicate something very different. Gomer signi- 
fies fulness, completion ; and Diblaim, two cakes 
of figs. It certainly requires no great stretch of 
imagination to conclude, that the prophet intended 
to represent an ideal female character, under the 
name of satiety, daughter of cloying pleasures : 
and, most undoubtedly, it would not be easy to 
imagine a more appropriate designation of a 
wretched being, whether the person had been 
prostituted to infamous paramours, or the mind 
to idolatrous suitors. 

A most able and instructive examination of 
the subject here referred to, may be found in 
Hengstenberg's Christology, before mentioned, 



ON HOSE A I— II. I. 167 

vol. ili. p. 11 ss. The work is accessible to all, 
and ought to be in the hands of every theological 
student, while intelligent Christians in general 
^Guld not peruse it without pleasure and profit. 



COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID KIMCHI, 

ON HOSEA I— II. 1. 

1. The word of the Lord that came to Hosea. 
Observe that* the words of his prophecy are words 
of admonition to Israel and Judah, who did evil 
in the sight of the Lord in the day of those kings, 
as it is written. 

2. The beginning of the word of the Lordf 
by Hosea. We find the word — to speak — which 
is employed to designate prophecy, construed 
with the servile beth ; as, hath the Lord indeed 
spoken only by Moses ? hath he not spoken also 
by us ? — the spirit of the Lord spake by me ; — 
mouth to mouth will I speak by him.f In the 
phrase J-prp *Q^, *]^n ma y be a verb in the pret- 
erit tense. He means to say, that the first divine 
communication to Hosea was as follows ;§ take to 
thyself a wife of whoredoms. Or, -Q^j may be a 

* Lit., and behold. 

t Or, (at) the beginning the Lord spake. 
t Num. xii. 2. 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. Num. xii. 8. 
§ Lit., the first that the Lord spake by Hosea was this that he 
said to him. 



COMMENTARY OF KIMCHI ON HOSEA I— II. I. 1^9 

noun ; as — and the word is not in them.* — And 
the Lord said to Hosea ; go, take unto thee a wife 
of whoredoms. All this — that he commands him 
to take a wife of whoredoms, and he took her, and 
she conceived and bare of him three times — was 
done in prophetic vision : and it is a symbolical 
representation! of Israel, who had committed 
adultery against,^ the Lord ; and this is what he 
says, for the land hath committed adultery against 
the Lord. The meaning of — children of whore- 
doms — (is this;) thou shalt have by her adulterous 
children, for she is an adulterous wife. Thus 
Israel, and those who were born of them in those 
generations, committed adultery against the Lord. 
And all this took place in prophetic vision, not 
that the prophet Hosea married an adulterous 
woman. Although we do find in the words of our 
rabbies of blessed memory, a literal interpreta- 
tion :$ for they explain — and the Lord said to Ho- 
sea (thus :) The blessed and holy one told him the 
sin of Israel. He should have said|| before him, 
Lord of the world, these are thy children, they are 

* I cannot find this passage either in Buxtorf's or Fiirst's Concor- 
dance. In Judg. xviii. 7, and 28, the phrase occurs ^ih^rn nis* 
^j-rV which resembles it more closely than any other I have met 
with. 

t Lit., a parable. I Lit., from after. 

§ Lit., that the matter (is to be taken) according to the literal 

Lit., it was to him to say. 

9* 



170 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

the children of thy proved ones, 'the children of 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; roll down mercies 
upon them. Not satisfied with neglecting to say- 
thus, he added ;* since all the world is thine, ex- 
change them for another people. The holy and 
blessed one said, what shall I do to this old man? 
He said to him, take unto thee a wife of whore- 
dom ; and afterwards he said to him, go, send her 
away from thy presence. If he is able to send 
her away, so also am I able to send away Israel. 
After she had borne him two sons and one daugh- 
ter, the holy and blessed one said to Hosea, 
shouldst thou not have learned of Moses thy mas- 
ter? after that I had spoken to him, he separated 
from the woman :t separate thyself from her. He 

* Lit., not his sufficiency, (that is, it was not sufficient for him,) 
that he did not say thus, but he said before him. 

t The author here alludes to a Rabbinical gloss on Exod. xix. 15, 
which is illustrated by the following passage from Maimonides, 
Foundations of the Law, chap. vii. sect. 10, which I give from the 
translation of Bernard, pp. 118, 119, omitting the original Hebrew. 
" Behold, by this you learn that with regard to all the other prophets, 
these, when prophecy departed from them, returned to their tents 
again, by which is meant, [that they returned again to*] their bodily 
wants, like the rest of the people, and therefore did not keep away 
from their wives ; but as to Moses our Rabbi, he did not return to his 
former tent, and therefore he did keep away from women,t and from 
all similar [wants] forever." In a note he adds, from the Shemoth 
Rabbah ; " Judah says, by the word of the Holy One, blessed be he ! 
it was said unto him (Moses,) come not at [your] wives, (Exod. xix. 

* The brackets are empIo3 r ed by the translator to designate words added 
by himself, in order to make the version clearer. 

t Lit., from the woman or wife. 






KIMCHI, ON HOSE A I— II. 1. 17J 

said before him, Lord of the world, I have chil- 
dr en by her, and I cannot send her away ? The 
holy and blessed one said to him, and as* thou 
(art,) whose wife is adulterous and whose children 
are children of an adulterous woman, thus (am) I, 
whose children are the children of Israel, the chil- 
dren of my proved ones, Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob, and they are one of the five possessions,! 

15;) now as Moses was comprehended among them, (the Israelites,) 
then, behold, it was forbidden to all of them. Bat when he said, get 
you into your tents again, then, behold, he has allowed it to them. 
Moses, therefore, said unto him, Am I also to be among them ? 
(i. e., is it allowed to me as well as to them?) But he said unto him, 
it is not so, but : stand thou here by me." A genuine Rabbinical 
gloss truly. 

* Lit., what. 

t The following passage from the Mishna illustrates the author's 
meaning. It is foimd in the Treatise entitled Pirke Avoth, that is, 
Maxims, or important Declarations of the Fathers, chap. vi. sect. 8. 
See the edition of Surenhusius, vol. iv. p. 489. The holy blessed God 
has acquired five possessions in his world, and they are these : The 
law is one possession ; heaven and earth are one possession ; Abraham 
is one possession ; Israel is one possession ; the holy house is' one pos- 
session. As to the law, how is this proved ? Because it is said, the 
Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of 
old* How as to heaven and earth? Because it is written: thus 
saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot- 
stool; where is the house that you will build for me ? and where is 
the place of my rest?t How as to Abraham ? Because it is written, 
and he blessed him and said, blessed be Abraham of the most high 
God, possessor of heaven and earth.t How as to Israel ? Because 
it is written, until thy people pass over, O Lord, until the people pass 
over which thou hast purchased :§ and he (or it) says, to the saints 

* Prov. vui 22. t Isa lxvi.1. | Gen. xiv. IS. § F.xod.xv. 16. 



172 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

and thou sayest, exchange them for another people! 
When he knew that he had sinned, he stood up 
to seek mercies for himself. The haly and blessed 
one said to him, while thou art seeking mercies 
for thyself, seek mercies for Israel. Immediately 
he began with blessings and said, and the num- 
ber of the children of Israel shall be like the sand 
of the sea.* But Jonathan explains the matter 
as a parable, and his exposition is right. 

3. And he went and took Gomer, the daugh- 
ter of Diblaim : the name of a well known harlot 
of that time. — And she conceived and bare him a 
son. He says a son, for Jeroboam, the son of 
Joash, was strong in his kingdom, as the male, 
who is stronger than the female ; and he reigned 
forty-one years, and restored the coast of Israel 
from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the 
plain.f And Jonathan's exposition is : and he 
went and prophesied concerning them ; and he says, 
that if they will repent and so forth. — Gomer ex- 

that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.* 
How as to the holy house? Because it is written, the place, O Lord, 
thou hast made for thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O Lord, (which) 
thy hands have established.! Also, it says : and he brought them to 
the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain (which) his right hand 
had purchased.! — This is a fair specimen of Talmudical trifling. 

* The serious reader will probably be shocked at perusing this 
piece of Rabbinical impertinence. Such gross and irreverent fables 
are by no means unfrequent in very ancient Jewish writings. At 
present, it is to be hoped, a better feeling and taste prevail. 

t 2 Kings xiv. 25. 

* P?. xvi. r?. t Exod. xv. 17. | Ps, Ixxviii. 54. 



KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I— II. 1. 173 

presses the idea of fulness, as if he had said, he 
will fill up on them their transgressions, and will 
pardon their iniquity. And the meaning ot dib- 
laim is equivalent to a cake of figs. 

4. And the Lord said unto him, call his name 
Jezreel. This is Jeroboam, the son of Joash, 
strong in his kingdom, as we have explained. Ac- 
cordingly he says, for yet a little while : for he 
did not visit in the days of Jeroboam, for he pros- 
pered in his kingdom ; but he visited the blood of 
Jezreel upon the house of Jehu in the days of 
Zechariah his son, who reigned only six months, 
and was slain, and the kingdom* of Jehu ceased. 
And why does he say, the blood of Jezreel ? (He 
means) the blood of the house of Ahab, which he 
(Jehu) shed in Jezreel. And although he did, in 
this matter, that which was right in the eyes of 
the Lord : yet, as he did not observe to walk in 
the law of the Lord, and did not turn from all the 
sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the blood which 
he shed was reckoned to him as innocent blood. 
And thus we see that Baasha was punished on 
account of the blood of Nadab, son of Jeroboam, 
even although he was wicked ; as it is said, and 
because he killed him.f And I will cause to cease 
the kingdom of the house of Israel : for the king- 
dom of Israel continued (but) a little while after 



* By kingdoiu, he evidently means, dynasty. 
t 1 Kings xvi. 7. 



174 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

this, for in the days of Hosea, son of Elah, they 
were utterly destroyed : and respecting the time 
of Jehu it is said, in those days the Lord began to 
cut Israel short and so forth.* And Jonathan ex- 
plains the verse thus : and the Lord said unto him, 
call his name dispersed and so forth. 

5. And it shall be in that day, that I will 
break : In that day when I shall visit all the 
blood of Jezreel, I will break the bow of Israel ; 
meaning, their strength and their power. The 
vau in itVlilBl is redundant, on account of his 
having (before) said "iSn^tDHl' — In the valley of 
Jezreel ; their bow which was in the valley of 
Jezreel ; for the head of the kingdom of Ephraim 
was Samaria and Jezreel, for the royal house of 
Ahab was in Samaria and in Jezreel : and so of 
the kings who succeed him. And Jonathan ex- 
plains it thus : And it shall come to pass, in that 
time, that I will break the strength of the warriors 
of Israel in the valley (or plain) of Jezreel. 

6. And she conceived again and bare a daugh- 
ter. After she had borne a son, who, as we have 
explained it, was parabolical of Jeroboam the son 
of Joash, she bare a daughter. And thisf was 
parabolical of Zechariah his son, and of Shallam, 



* 2 Kings x. 32. 

t The Hebrew is Nfrii-n, the ordinary meaning of which is,*md 
he. But, as the context shows that the child is regarded as a symbol 
of the feebler monarch, it must have a corresponding sense : unless 
indeed the text ought to be s^°i}^n in the feminine. 



KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I— II. 1. 175 

son of Jabesh, who reigned after him. For they 
were feeble like a female, for Zechariah reigned 
only six months and then was slain, and Shallum 
was slain after reigning a single month. 

7. For I will no more add I will have mercy 
upon the house of Israel : (that is,) I will no more 
add that I will have mercy : like, do not increase 
you talk, (for) that yon talk ; then shall we know 
we follow, (for) that we follow.* ^ ^1^5 &t2)5$ 
EHb : For I will certainly raise up to them :f(that is, 
I will bring) the enemy upon them, who will take 
them captive, and lay waste their land. Or, ftnb 
may be explained by tD£"n& 5 and thus we have, 
they slew AbnerJ ("ft^b "l!nn>) equivalent to 
*"l5i& £■)&• The meaning will be, I will take them 
away to the land of their enemies. But it may 
be explained thus : for until now I have been for- 
giving (taking away) their sin, for I have been 
showing mercy to them, but I will not continue 
(to do so) any more. 

7. But I will have mercy upon the house of 
Judah: for observe the kingdom of Judah contin- 
ued after the captivity of Israel, from the sixth year 
of Hezekiah until the destruction of the temple, 

* Kimchi means, that in these places there is an ellipsis of the 
particle that ; and to show his meaning, I have been compelled to 
translate according to the Hebrew idiom. The texts referred to are, 
1 Sam. ii. 3. Hosea vi. 3. 

t " But I will utterly destroy them." Eng. Trans. 

t 2 Sam. iii. 30. 



176 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

and he saved them from the hardy Sennacherib, 
not by sword and by bow and by war, by horses 
and by horsemen ; for the angel of the Lord smote 
in the camp of the Assyrians, as it is written.* 

8. And she weaned Lo-ruhamah, and con- 
ceived and bare a son. He says, and she weaned, 
inasmuch as the days of the feeble one were pro- 
tracted in the time of Zechariah and Shallum : 
also in the days of Menahem, the son of Gadi, who 
reigned ten years ; for in his days came Pul, the 
king of Assyria. Also in the 'days of Pekahiah 
his son, who reigned two years, until Pekah, the 
son of Remaliah stood up and strengthened him- 
self in the kingdom, and reigned twenty years, and 
violently attacked the kingdom of Judah, and slew 
120,000 men in one day. Also he besieged Jeru- 
salem, with Resin king of Syria. And of him he 
speaks in this parabolical language, and she con- 
ceived and bare a son. 

9. And of his generation it is said, call his 
name Lo-ammi : for of him it is said, and he did 
evil in the sight of the Lord, he did not depart 
from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.f 
And the wise Rabbi, Abraham ben Ezra of bless- 
ed memory, explains — and she weaned — paraboli- 
cally : after the ten tribes had gone into captivity, 
and had begotten children in (the land of,) their 
captivity, and settled there and did not return to 

* 2 Kings xix. 35. t 2 Kings xv. 28. 



KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I.— II. 1. 177 

their own land, (he says,) therefore call their name 
Lo-ammi, (not my people.) And so also the Tar- 
gum of Jonathan. — And he said : this has been 
explained. 

10. And the number of the children of Israel 
shall be : although they are now called Lo-ammi, 
yet a time shall come, when the number of the 
children of Israel shall be as the sand which can- 
not be numbered. It cannot be measured, much 
less can it be numbered ; and thus we have, nei- 
ther truth nor mercy.* The term measure is ap- 
plicable to the sand, but not to the stars, in refer- 
ence to which we use the word number. The 
prophet Jeremiah therefore distinguishes them, 
when he applies a comparison to their years, t and 
says, as the host of Heaven cannot be numbered, 
nor the sand of the sea measured. And, although 
he makes this comparison respecting two families 
of Israel, and this prophet makes it of all Israel, 
there is nothing surprising in this ; for in each it is 
hyperbolical, and simply denotes multitude.J — 
And it shall come to pass, that in the place where 
it was said to them, ye are not my people : in- 
stead of what was said in that time, ye are not 
my people ; (namely,) on account of their evil 
works : it shall be said to them ; (meaning) at that 

* Hosea iv. 1. 

t The years of the people. Jer. xxxiii. 22. 
t Lit., the intention is only to express by them the idea of mul- 
titude. 



178 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

time. Sons of the living God : for they will return 
to God, and he will cause their captivity to return, 
and will have mercy on them. The reason of the 
expression* — sons of the living God (is this :) 
Because, at that time (people) were devotingf 
(their) sons to other Gods not living ; for even 
the living ones among them, that is, the stars, are 
not living except by virtue of him who gave life 
to them, whilst he, the blessed one, has in him- 
self the essential principle of life.J. But Jona- 



* Lit., and the meaning of. 

t Lit., making for. 

X Lit., is living without any producing cause. — The Rabbies re- 
garded the heavenly bodies as animated and glorious beings, and the 
language of Kimchi accords with this theory. Thus Maimonides, in 
his Treatise on the Foundations of the Law, chap. iii. sect. 11, which 
is thus translated by Bernard. " All the planets and orbs are beings, 
possessed of soul, mind, and understanding. Moreover, they are alive, 
they exist, and know him who spake [the word], and the universe 
existed. All of them, in proportion to their magnitude and to their 
degree, praise and glorify their Creator just as the angels [do ;] and 
in the same way as they know the Holy One, blessed be he ! so do 
they also know themselves. They also know the angels that are 
above them. Now the knowledge of the planets and of the orbs is 
less than the knowledge of the angels, yet it is greater than the 
knowledge of the sons of men." pp. 97, 98. Nor must it be sup- 
posed that such notions are merely Rabbinical figments. They were 
maintained by several of the ancient Greek philosophers ; and, how- 
ever strange it may appear to us, even distinguished Christian writers 
have held similar opinions. This is clearly shown by Vossius, in his 
learned work on the Origin and Progress of Idolatry, Lib. II. chap, 
xxx. pp. 454 — 4G0. Origen has expressed himself perhaps more 
plainly on this point than any other of the fathers. He speaks of the 
stars as " animated beings, as living creatures endowed with reason 



KIMCH1, ON HOSEA I— II. 1. 179 

than explains — in the place — according to its lit- 
eral meaning, (thus :) And it shall come to pass, 
(that) in the place where they were carried away 
captive among the nations when they transgressed 
the law, and it was said to them, ye are not my 
people, they will repent and become glorious, and 
it shall be said to them, people of the living God. 
(In other words they shall be so called.) 

11. Then shall the children of Judah and the 
children of Israel be gathered together. And this 
will come to pass, at the gathering of the captivity 
in the time of the Messiah; for during the second 
temple only Judah and Benjamin, who were made 
captive in Babylon, went up, and not the children 
of Judah and the children of Israel together. — And 
appoint for themselves one head: this is king Mes- 
siah. And thus the Targum of Jonathan : and 
they will appoint for them one head of the house 
of David. — And they shall come .up out of the 
land ; from the land of their captivity they will go 
up to their own land. But those who interpret 
this clause — (they shall go up) — into captivity, 
are wrong.* For (then) what would be themean- 

and power, and illuminated by that wisdom which is the ray Of 
eternal light ; " and he distinguishes between their sensible and their 
intellectual light. See the quotations in Suicer's Thesaurus Ecclesi- 
asticus, under a'ojig, II. 2, torn. I. p. 560. He speaks also of "the 
rational heavenly powers suffering dismay and derangement, and 
being suspended from their functions." See his Comment on Matt, 
xxiv. 29, 30, quoted in the Catena Aurea. Oxford, vol. I. part iii. p 
822. * Lit., without support. 



180 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 

ing of — and they will appoint for themselves one 
head — for whoever shall go into captivity ? and 
also — and they shall come up out of the land ? 
whereas,* he should have said, they shall go down ; 
or, they shall go out : for the land of Israel is high- 
er than all (other) lands, and he that goeth to it 
goeth up, and whoever goeth out of it comes 
down.f The vau in -^21 and they shall come up 
out of the land is to be explained thus, J " after they 
shall have come up, like the vau in — behold thou 
art angry and§ we have sinned ; and§ he came 
from offering the sin offering and the burnt offer- 
ing ; and it bred worms and<§> stank ; and other 
similar places. For the Messiah will not be their 
head until they shall be in Jerusalem. And there 
are some who by one head understand the prophet 
Elijah, who will bring them up from the captiv- 
ity. — For great (is) the day of Jezreel : the day, 
(that is,) the time that their bow has been broken 
in the valley of Jezreel, is great and exceedingly 
protracted ; the time of their captivity and the 
completing of their punishment in the captivity — 
that the time is very much protracted. || But my 

* Lit., for. 

t A goodly reason truly, and illustrative of the learned Rabbi's 
topographical knowledge. 

t Lit., they explain it. 

§ Isa. lxiv. 4, (5.) Levit. ix. 22. Exod. xvi. 20. He means that 
in these places, as in the text, the vau has the meaning of after. 

|| Or, it may be translated thus : — their punishment in the cap- 
tivity, which is protracted, is a long time. 



KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I— II. 1. 181 

respected father of blessed memory explains (it 
thus :) A long time and great were they sown 
among the nations, but now I will gather them ; 
therefore he calls the name of Israel, Jezreel ; be- 
cause God hath sown them among the nations. 
And the Targum of Jonathan (is,) behold, great 
is the day of their gathering, (or congregation.) 

II. 1. Say ye to your brethren, Ammi, (my 
people :) Rabbi Saadias Gaon, of blessed mem- 
ory interprets (this as follows.) He says to the 
tribe of Judah and of Benjamin, (as to) your breth- 
ren, the ten tribes, who were called Lo-ammi 
when they were doing evil in the sight of the 
Lord, say to them in the time of the captivity, 
Ammi. — And to your sister, Ruhamah :* And, in- 
much as the parable (or symbol) comprehended 
both son and daughter, he says — your brethren 
and your sister. And the word Q^fnn^j ( an d 
your sister,) is with one plural only : for he might 
have said with a twofold plural ED 1 FIT 1 n&» like 
—my brethren and my sisters, *>£"|"pn&*f 

* Meaning — she on whom mercy has been shown. 

t Josh. ii. 13, the kri or marginal reading. Kimchi means, that 
the first form is singular with a plural suffix, whereas the second has 
not only the plural suffix, but is also a plural noun. 



TARGUM OF JONATHAN 

ONHOSEA l.-II.l. 



1. The word of the prophecy from before the 
Lord which cameto* Hosea, the son of Beeri in 
the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz (and) Heze- 
kiah, kings of the house of Judah, and in the days 
of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel. 

2. Beginningofthe word of the Lord by Hosea: 
and the Lord said to Hosea, go, prophesy against 
the inhabitants of the idolatrous city who sin ex- 
ceedingly,! for the inhabitants of the land will 
commit idolatry (or fornication,) againstj the ser- 
vice of the Lord. 

3. And he went and prophesied concerning 
them, that if they would repent he would pardon 
them, and if not, they should fall like the falling of 
the leaves of the fig-trees. But they persisted in 
doing || evil works. 

* Lit., which was with. t Lit., add to sin. 

t Lit:, from after. 

§ This is in allusion to the meaning of ^l^iT 
|| Lit., they added and did. 



TA'RGUM OF JONATHAN ON HOSEA I— II. 1. jgS 

4. And the Lord said to him, call their name 
dispersed, for yet a little while and I will visit the 
blood of the idolaters which Jehu shed in Jezreel, 
whom he slew because they served Baal. They 
turned to commit idolatry after the calves of Beth- 
el ; therefore will I reckon innocent blood against 
the house of Jehu, and will make the kingdom of 
the house of Israel to cease. 

5. And it shall come to pass in that time, that 
I will break the strength of the warriors of Israel 
in the valley (or plain,) of Jezreel. 

6. And they continued to do evil works : and 
he said to him, call their name, — for I will not con- 
tinue to show mercy to the house of Israel ; but if 
they will return, I will surely pardon them. 

7. But I will show mercy on the house of Ju- 
dah, and I will deliver them by the word of the 
Lord their God, and they shall not be delivered 
by bow and by sword and by warriors, by horses 
and by horsemen. 

6. But the generations of those who have been 
carried away captive among the children of the 
nations are found (to be) those who have not mercy 
shown on their works ; and they continued to do 
evil works. 

9. And he said, call their name, not my peo- 
ple, for ye are not my people, because ye do not 
confirm (or continue to keep) the words of my 
law ; my word was not among }^our helpers. 

10. And the number of the children of Israel 



1S4 TARGUM OF JONATHAN ON HOSEA I— II. 1. 

shall be great, like the sand of the sea which is 
neither measured nor numbered. And it shall 
come to pass, (that) in the place where they were 
carried away captive among the nations, when 
they transgressed the law, and it was said to them, 
ye are not my people, they will repent and be- 
come glorious, and it shall be said to them, people 
of the living God. 

11 And the children of Judahand the children 
of Israel shall be gathered together in perfect uni- 
son,* and shall appoint for themselves one head 
of the house of David, and they shall go up from 
the land of their captivity, for great will be the 
day of their gathering (or congregation.) 

12. Prophets, say to your brethren, my peo- 
ple, turn to my law, and I will have mercy upon 
your congregation. 

• Lit., like one. 






COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS, 
THE GAON, 

ON DANIEL IX. 24—27, 



24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy 
people : — If we reckon, we shall know how 
many years these are. Ten times seven amount 
to seventy. Now seventy weeks are four hun- 
dred and ninety years.* Deduct from them the 
seventy years of the Babylonian captivity, from 
the time of the destruction of the temple by Ne- 
buchadnezzar to the second year of Darius, (and) 
four hundred and twenty years will remain ; and 
thisf was the duration of the second house. That 
is to say, he decrees seventy weeks for thy people 
and thy city Jerusalem, thy holy city, which is 
about to be built. Observe as respects its contin- 
uance,! (that,) comprehending the (time of the) 
Babylonian captivity and the duration also of the 

* The best of the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and 
Abarbanel, agree with Saadias in considering Daniel's weeks as 
weeks of years. 

t Lit., for thus, or which thus. 

t That of the whole period. 
9 



186 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS, 

second temple, there are seventy weeks, which 
are equivalent to four hundred and ninety years ; 
seventy for the (period of the) destruction, and 
four hundred and twenty for that of the building. 
—To finish the transgression : which they had 
committed. And to make an end of sins : that 
the holy and blessed God will make an end of 
the sins. And to make reconciliation for : Israel's 
iniquities. — And to bring in everlasting righteous- 
ness : this (refers to) the house of the sanctuary, 
as it is written, — a settled place for thee to abide 
in forever,* and it is called the everlasting house 
of the sanctuary ; (or, the house of the sanctuary 
of the worlds.f) In the world was the first build- 
ing ; and in the world the second building; and 
in the world the third building, which shall stand 
for ever and ever ; (or, for all worlds.f) — And to 
seal up vision and prophecy : for after the build- 
ing of the second house no prophet arose in Israel, 
except such as were favored with the Bath Kol.J 



* 1 Kings viii. 13. 

t The reader of the original will note the word 0b")3? rendered 
world, and the plural tPfablS? "^b"^' expressive of perpetuity. 
The allu-ion which the latter contains to the former cannot be pre- 
served in an English translation. 

t Lit., made use of. Bath kol means the daughter voice, or 
of the voice. It is a phrase employed to denote certain modes of 
communicating divine intimations inferior to those direct methods 
which we read of in the Old Testament. It is often applied to merely 
incidental concurrences. In this case the Bath kol is the same sort 
of superstition as that practised among the ancients under the name 



THE GAON, ON DANIEL IX. 24—27. 187 

* — And to anoint the holy of holies : that the glory 
of the greatness of the second house might be 
greater than that of the first, as it is written — the 
glory of this latter house shall be greater than 
that of the former.* And this is the meaning of 
anointing, which denotes dignity, as — to be an- 
ointed by them, which the Targumists explain 
by — to make great.f — YetJ there are expositors 

of sortes Virgilianae. The Jews say, that after the time of the last 
prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the spirit of prophecy 
departed from Israel. Still, however, they were favored with the 
Bath kol. This was a voice from heaven accompanying thunder ; 
and by this voice, they maintain, that the authority of their great 
masters, especially Hillel, was confirmed. The other kind of Bath 
kol may be illustrated by a story from the Talmud. " Rabbi Eliezer 
says : — they follow the hearing," that is, the leading " of the Bath 
kol. Rabbi Johanan and Rabbi Simeon desired to see the face of 
Samuel : let us follow, say they, the hearing of Bath kol. Travelling 
therefore near a school, they heard a boy's voice reading — and 
Samuel died * They observed this, and so it came to pass ; for 
Samuel of Babylon was dead." — And again : " Rabbi Jonah and 
Rabbi Josah went to visit Rabbi Acha lying sick. Let us follow, say 
they, the hearing of Bath kol. They heard the voice of a certain 
woman, speaking to her neighbor — the light is put out ; to whom she 
said, let it not be put out, nor let the light of Israel be quenched." 
Lightfoot's Hebrew and Talmudical Exercitations on Matthew iii. 17, 
and x. 34. Works, Vol. II. pp. 129, 181, folio, London, 1684. The 
reader may find several fortuitous coincidences somewhat like these 
mentioned by Prideaux in his Old and New Testament Connected, 
Part II. Book V. Anno. 107, Vol. II. p. 330. 

* Hag. ii. 9. 

t So the Targum of Onkelos on Exodus xxix. 29, the text re- 
ferred to. 

t Lit., and. 

*■ 1 Sam. xxv. 1. 



188 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS, 

who say, that mtEtob means (here) to stretch out 
a measure, explaining it by the Chaldee 5$FintEto> 
a measure, in accordance with what is said — and 
a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.* 

25, From the going forth of the command- 
ment : from the time that the word proceeds from 
the Creator, and the decree is determined to bring 
back the captivity from Babylon, and to build 
Jerusalem under the auspicesf of Cyrus. — -|$ 
"TtO IT ID to > until the chief is anointedj (that is,) 
until the king, who is the chief, shall become 
great, so as to build Jerusalem, (there shall) yet 
(be) seven weeks. These seven weeks are forty- 
nine years : from the time that the Creator an- 
nounced to them the joyful tidings that Jerusalem 
should be built, even to the second year of Darius 
king of Persia. And afterwards Jerusalem shall 
be built, and shall continue stand ing§ four hun- 
dred and twenty years. Here now are|| seventy 
weeks, wanting ten years, (and) these ten years 
Bither stood. ^[ And when they have gone up to 

* Z >ch. i. 16. t Lit., at the hand. 

X Unto the Messiah the prince. Eng. Trans. 

§ Lit., and shall stand in its structure. 

|| Lit., behold. 

T I have given a literal translation of the words of Saadias, as 
they stand in the printed text of Buxtorf and the Bomberg Bible. 
The 420 years do not amount to within ten years of the 70 weeks or 
490 years. They want ten weeks or 70 years of this period. If it 
were allowable to translate the original ten of years, we might sup- 
pose the author to mean ten weeks of years. The difficulty would 






THE GAON, ON DANIEL IX. 24—27. 189 

Jerusalem, the street shall be built, that is, Jeru- 
salem and its walls.—- Vfim* These are forti- 
fiedf trenches lately made by the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem, in order to prevent people from pass- 
ing over. — And in troublous times : that is, as 
regardsj the courts of the temple,^ the charges 
and stations of the priests and Levites : as if 
he had said, all these years Jerusalem shall be 
desolated. 

26, 27. ^^Hp 1 © CpD 53?>— -d!DD is equivalent 
to "p, (hand, power.) He means to say, as long 
as the power (influence) of those who ate swine's 
flesh, the abomination and the mouse || prevailed. 
After the sixty-two weeks, the anointed shall be 
cut off, and the dominion (shall) not (continue) to 
him : (namely,) after the destruction of the house, 
and the desolation of the temple. — And until the 

thus be removed, but it is very doubtful whether the translation is 
admissible. — Bither or Bithra was a place of reat strength, enclosing 
a very considerable space, near Jerusalem accordin : to some ac- 
counts, and according to others not far from the Mediterranean Sea. 
It is famous as the scene of extraordinary carnage during the reign 
of the emperor Adrian, and for the destruction of the false Messiah, 
Bar Chocheb, who had taken refuge there. The accounts of these 
and other matters connected with Bither are greatly exaggerated by 
the Jewish writers. If the reader wishes to peruse them, he may 
gratify his curiosity by consulting Btsn'ge, Book VII. chap. xii. § 
28, 29,30; Jost, Book XII. chap, xii., and the Appendix, 34, 35, 36; 
and Buxtorf's Lexicon, Chal. Tal. et Rab. Col. 372. 

* And the ditch. Eng. Trans. t Lit., enclosed. 

X Lit., these (are.) § Lit,, the house of the sanctuary. 

|j Isa. lxvi. 17. 



190 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS. 

consummation and that determined : shall come 
on the desolated. This is Jerusalem ; and he shall 
make sacrifice and oblation to cease. — People of 
the prince that shall come — and the end thereof 
with a flood ; this is the emperor Adrian, who 
destroyed the temple, and make sacrifice and 
oblation to cease, and destroyed the place of the 
daily service. — £p3 b^l : And on account of those 
who eat swine's flesh and the abomination, he 
makes Israel desolate, even until what is fully 
determined* is poured out on the captivity of 
Israel the desolated. 

* Lit., completed and determine 1. 



EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMEN- 
TARY ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 



Gen. XLIX. 10. One that exercises authority 
shall not depart from the Tiouse of Judah, nor a 
scribe from his children's children forever, until 
Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom, and whom 
the nations shall obey. Chal. Targ. of Onkelos. 

Kings shall not cease from the house of Judah, 
nor skilful teachers of the law from his children's 
children, until the time that king Messiah comes, 
whose is the kingdom, and whom all the king- 
doms of the earth are about to serve, Jerusalem 
Targurn. <» 

The Samaritan agrees very nearly with the 
Hebrew. 

For the views of Jarchi and Aben Ezra, the 
reader is referred to my Companion to the Book 
of Genesis, p. 372—374. 

Psalm II. Aben Ezra considers this Psalm 
to have been written in honor of David, on occa- 
sion of his being anointed king, or else in celebra- 
tion of the Messiah. Jarchi comments thus on 
the first verse. Why do the heathen rage ? Our 



192 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 

Rabbles explain this of king Messiah, but in its 
simple meaning, it is evidently explicable of Da- 
vid himself, according to what is said — and the 
Philistines heard that they had anointed David 
king over Israel,* and they gathered together 
their hosts, and they fell into his hand : and of 
them he says, why no the heathen rage and all 
of them assemble together. 

It will require much more than the Rabbi's 
assertion to persuade the reader, that the inter- 
pretation which explains the whole Psalm of 
David is the most literal or natural. It is most 
clearly explicable of the Messiah, as applied in 
the New Testament. See Acts. iv. 25, 26: xiii. 
33. Heb. i. 5. The admission of Jarchi, how- 
ever, is highly important, namely, that the most 
ancient Jewish expositors interpreted the Psalm 
of the Messiah. 

XLV. 1. This Psalm relates either to David, 
or to the Messiah his son, as he is called — and 
my servant David shall be their prince forever.f 
Aben Ezra. He expounds several clauses either 
of David or the Messiah. 

3. Thy beauty, O King Messiah, is superior 
to (that of) the sons of men. Chal. Targ. 

LXXII. 1. By | Solomon, it is said prophet- 
ically, O God, give the course^ of thy judgments 

* 2 Sam. v. 17. t Ezek. xxxvii. 25. 

X Lit., by the hand of. 

§ It may be translated, way, reason, ground. 



ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 193 

to king Messiah, and thy righteousness to the son 
of king David. Chal. Targ. 

A prophecy of David or one of the poets, re- 
lating either to Solomon or to the Messiah. Aben 
Ezra. 

16. This is expressive of increase and multi- 
tude, and our Rabbies explain it by abundance 
of meal to make bread, in reference to the days 
of the Messiah, and the whole Psalm (they ex- 
plain) of king Messiah. Jarchi. 

17. They of the house of Yenoi say, that 
Yenon is his name, (that is, Messiah's,) as it is 
said, — his name shall live forever, with the sun 
his name shall be perpetuated, (l"i^, Yenon.) 
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrim, fol. 98. 2 ; or 
as quoted in Essay on our Lord's discourse at 
Capernaum recorded in the sixth chapter of St. 
John, p. 87. 

Isaiah xlii. 1. Behold my servant Messiah, 
I will bring him near, my choice one in whom 
my word delighteth, I will give him my Holy 
Spirit. Chal. Targ. 

Behold my servant : this is king Messiah, as 
we explain it. — I will uphold him ; this is figura- 
tive, as a king is supported by his faithful servant. 
— I have put my Spirit upon him; as he says also 
concerning him — and the Spirit of the Lord shall 
rest upon him.* David Kiinchi ; who then pro- 



* Isa. xi. 2. 
9* 



194 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 

ceeds with this exposition, and illustrates it by- 
several other quotations. 

Jeremiah, xxiii. 5. Behold, the days come, 
saith the Lord, when I will raise up to David 
Messiah of righteousness,* and a king shall reign 
and prosper, and shall execute judgments of right- 
eousness and justice in the land, (or earth.) 

6. And in his days the house of Judah shall 
be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this 
is the name which they shall call him ; justice 
shall be done to us from the Lord in his da} r s. 
Chal. Targ. ' 

5. A righteous branch : This is Messiah ; and 
he calls him a branch, because his coming forth 
in the world will be like the coming forth of a 
branch (or sprout) of the field, which increases 
greatly. Thus, as he is righteous, there will be 
with him righteous people in abundance in the 
world, as it is written — in his days shall the 
righteous burst forth ;f and it is said — he shall 
pass right sentence on many people.j: — And a 
king shall rule as king.§ He repeats the word in 

* Thus the Antwerp Polyglott. The London and Buxtorf read, 
Messiah of the just, but the other reading is preferable. 

t Ps. lxxii. 7, "flourish." Eng. Trans. 

t Isa. ii 4, or Mic iv. 3, "he shall judge among many people." 
Eng. Trans. 

§ The proper translation would be, '•' a king shall reign." I have 
employed the above to enable the English reader to understand what 
follows. The Hebrew uses, in the form of a verb, the same word 
which occurs immediately before, as a noun ; on which Kimchi 
refines somewhat. 



ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 195 

order to strengthen the meaning :* for in mention- 
ing the action, he mentions also the noun with 
it, - ) - and the introduction of the noun (immedi- 
ately) afterwards is intended to add force, as — 
to gain dishonest gain — not to rain rain upon it — 
all treacherous actors of treachery ;J and thus 
(here), a king shall rule as king. From what 
he is said to do we know indeed his regal char- 
acter ;§ but the addition of the noun which ex- 
presses it is designed to declare emphatically, 
that his kingdom shall extend over all the earth, 
and not be confined to Israel, as it is said of him 
— he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and 
from the river even unto the ends of the earth.|| — 
b^D^ri"' shall prosper : thus the Targum of Jona- 
than ; and thus (it is said) — and David prospered 
in all his ways,^[ and in other similar places. 

6. And this is his name and so forth : Israel 
will call the Messiah by this name, the Lord our 
righteousness, because in his days the righteous- 
ness of the Lord will be established with us con- 
tinually, never more to depart. The name is here 
applied in the same way as it is employed by 
Moses our master, on whom be peace, who calls 

* Lit., the action. 

t That is, in speaking of the act of reigning, he speaks also of 
a king who reigns. 

X Ezek. xxii. 27. Isa. v. 6. Jer. xii. 1. In these three places 
the Hebrew corresponds with that in the text. 

§ Lit., in his saying — shall reign — we know that he is a king. 

|| Ps. lxxii. 8. IT 1 Sam. xviii. 14. 



196 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 

the altar, the Lord is my banner ;* and Jacob calls 
the altar, God the God of Israel.f Each is to be 
explained according to the nature of the case.J: 
Thusalsoitis said — and the name of the city from 
that dav (shall be,) the Lord is there. ^ Kimchi. 

XXXI. 31. ss. This declaration shows, that, 
in the time of the future redemption, God will give 
to his people a new law, other and different from 
that which we (now) have. But this is repug- 
nant to the fundamental principle which we be- 
lieve, that the law is perpetual and immutable. 
Rabin Don Isaac Abarbanel.|| 

XXXIJL 15. In those days and in that time, I 

* Exod. xvii. 15. t Gen. xxxiii 20. 

X Lit., according to the meaning which is found in it. 

§ Ezek. xlviii. 35. 

|| The supposition, that Jeremiah has in view the substitution of 
a new law, internal and spiritual, (as that of the Gospel confessedly 
is,) in place of the Mosaic, is indeed at variance with the fundamental 
principle which the leading Jewish authorities have assumed ; but 
this only proves, that this fundamental principle of theirs is laid in 
the sand, and is wholly indefensible. The admission of the Spanish 
Rabbi is, however, all important ; and the reader will not fail to ob- 
serve, how entirely it coincides with the view presented in the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, viii. 6 — 13. Other Jewish expositors, among whom 
is David Kimchi, suppose the prophet to speak of an increase of true 
religion, in accordance with the ritual and tenor of the Mosaic 
covenant. But the religious condition of Judaism has never been of 
such a character as to justify so restricted an interpretation ; and, 
from the nature of the system, from its practical imperfection, from 
the limited capability of its application, it must be evident that it was 
intended to be introductory to something better ; that it is not the 
glorious temple itself, but merely the vestibule of that great moral 
building, which is to comprehend the innumerable multitudes of 



ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 197 

will raise up to David Messiah of righteousness, 
and he shall execute the judgment of equity and 
righteousness in the earth. 

16. And in those days the house of Judah shall 
be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely ; and 
this is its name whereby it shall be called, — there 
shall be done for us benefits from the Lord in the 
midst of it. Chal. Targ. 

15. A righteous branch. This is king Messiah. 

16 And this is what they shall call it — the 
Lord our righteousness. The holy one, blessed 
be he, shall call Jerusalem — the Lord our righte- 
ousness ; meaning, that its inhabitants shall say, 
the Lord our righteousness. — (He then gives the 
explanation from the Targum, and proceeds thus.) 
Above he says of the king Messiah, — and this is 
his name which they shall call him, the Lord our 
righteousness : both amount to the same thing, as 
we have (already) explained the matter. Kimchi. 

Joeliii. 1. (ii.28.) And it shall come to pass after- 
ward : like — and it shall come to pass in the latter 
days ;* that is, in the time of the Messiah, as it is 
said — for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
the Lord.f 

mankind wherever scattered throughout the world. Would to God, 
that the Israelites would candidly consider their system in this light ! 
They might thus be prepared to examine dispassionately the claims 
of Christianity, and to consider calmly the grand question, — "what 
is the character of the Messiah, and the system to be established by 
him, as delineated by the Hebrew prophets? " 

* Micah iv. 1. t Isa. xi. 9. 



198 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 

2. (-29.) My Spirit — and that is, the spirit of 
knowledge and understanding, as he says — and 
the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him *; which 
he afterwards explains by — the spirit of wisdom 
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, 
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the 
Lord. Kimchi. 

Micah. iv. 7. last clause. And the kingdom 
of the Lord shall be revealed to them in mount 
Zion from this time and forever.f 

8. But thou, Messiah of Israel, who art hid- 
den! on account of the sins of the congregation of 
Zion, to thee shall come the kingdom, and the for- 
mer dominion shall come to the kingdom of the 
congregation of Jerusalem. Chal. Targ. 

IV. 1. " After having spoken of the devasta- 
tions of Zion and Jerusalem, he gives them this 
consolation. It shall be in the latter days : which 
are those of the Messiah. — The mountain of the 
house of the Lord : which he says shall be as the 
high places of the forest,^ shall hereafter be estab- 
lished on the top of the mountains. He does not 
mean that this mountain shall be raised in bulk, but 
that the nations shall exalt and honor it, and shall 

* Isa. xi 2. t Lit., and until forever. 

$ Strange as it may seem to the merely English reader, some 
such idea as this is given in the Syriac, Arabic, Septuagint and Vul- 
gate versions. Perhaps it originated from a Jewish notion, that the 
Messiah was to be concealed ; perhaps it gave rise in part to that 
notion. Comp. John vii. 27. 

§ iii. 12. 



ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 199 

go there to worship the Lord. And, inasmuch as ihe 
nations worshipped their gods upon high mountains 
and hills, he says that then they shall worship the 
Lord with one consent, and shall exalt this moun- 
tain above all others that have ever been exalted 
and glorified. 

2. The teacher is king Messiah, of whom he 
(afterwards) says, and he shall judge. Kimchi. 

1. There is no doubt that this prophecy re- 
lates to the future ; therefore he says — in the latter 
days. And the meaning is this ; inasmuch as he 
mentioned above that the mountain of the house 
should become high places of the forest, he (now) 
turns to comfort Israel ; for the glory of the house 
shall again return. It is (well) known that the 
mountain of the house was not high ; but observe 
that the sense is this ; its fame shall be widely 
extended, and from all corners (of the earth) peo- 
ple shall repeatedly bring offerings to it. It is as 
if it were on the tops of all the mountains and 
were elevated above the hills, so that all the in- 
habitants of the earth might see it. 

2. For out of Zion shall go the law : (namely) 
to all the nations, as it is written — that they may 
all call upon the name of the Lord and serve him 
with one consent.* 

3. And he shall judge : the judge is the Mes- 
siah. Aben Ezra. 

* Zeph. iii. 9. 



200 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 

V. 2. From thee shall come forth the Messiah, 
to exercise dominion over Israel. Chal. Targ. 

From thee shall come forth for me Messiah, 
the son of David ; and thus he says, the stone 
that the builders refused.* Jarchi. 

He says of Bethlehem — although thou art lit- 
tle among the nations of Judah, (yet) from thee 
shall come forth for me a judge to be ruler in Is- 
rael : and this is the king Messiah. 

3. His brethren : the Messiah's, t 

4. After the trouble,! king Messiah shall stand 
and feed Israel in the strength of the Lord. — The 
name of the Messiah shall now be great, after the 

judgment of the wicked. 

5. This peace is that of the Messiah, who shall 
be the cause of peace, as it is said, and he shall 
speak peace unto the heathen.^ The shepherds 
and principal men are the princes of king Messiah ; 
both terms denote the same thing. — But why does 
he say seven, eight ? It is like — give a portion 
to seven, and also to eight, || and denotes many. 
■p!#t is equivalent to yft$, and means with king 
Messiah. 

* Ps. cxviii. 22. 

t Lit., the pronoun in — his brethren, (relates) to the Messiah. 

X He alludes to that spoken of by Daniel xii. 1, whom he had just 
before quoted. 

$ Zech. ix. 10. || Ecles. xi. 2. 

IF The English is — " against him," meaning the enemy. Kimchi 
considers the preposition to denote connection with the Messiah, and 
refers for a similar use of it to Numbers ii. 20, where our translation 
has " by." 



ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 201 

10. I will cut off thy horses : that is, there shall 
be no need of horses and chariots ; for after the war 
with Gog and Magog, thou shalt have perpetual 
peace. 

11. And I will cut off the cities of thy land : 
that is to say, I will multiply you and give you 
peace, as if I were to cut off the walls of your 
cities, so that they should not be called cities, but 
open places. Kimchi. He then refers to Zech. 
ii. 8. (4.) 

V. 1. It is clear to me that the judge of Israel 
is either the Messiah or Zerubbabel, according to 
what follows, and thou Bethlehem Ephratah. The 
scripture speaks in reference to the purpose, as — 
they parted my garments among them,* and re- 
specting Balak — he fought against Israel,! because 
he says, perhaps I may be able to fight against 
them ;| and — the men pursued after them to Jor- 
dan ;§ while yet the spies had escaped. 

10, 11. I will cut off thy horses ; to make war, 
for they shall be unnecessary. And I will cut off the 
cities of thy land which are surrounded by walls ; 
for, unless a man feared enemies, it would be best 
for him to dwell in unwalled places, where the 
air is free. The sense is, there shall be peace in 
the land, and no need of defenced places. Aben 
Ezra. 



* Ps. xxii. 18. t Josh. xxiv. 9. 

t Num. xxii. 11. § Josh. ii. 7. 



202 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 

Zechariah ii. 9. At that time, when this pro- 
phecy is about to be fulfilled,* ye shall know that 
the Lord of hosts hath sent me : and this shall be 
hereafter, in the time of the Messiah. 

10. Sing and rejoice. This prophecy as far as 
— his holy habitation! — must be explained of the 
future, of the days of the Messiah, because it is 
said — and many nations shall be joined — (and,) 
be silent O all flesh :$ which we did not see du- 
ring the second temple. Kimchi. 

III. 8. Behold, I will bring out my servant, 
the Messiah, and he shall be manifested. Chal. 
Targ. 

Branch : that is, Zerubbabel. — But some ex- 
plain it of king Messiah ; as if he had said, al- 
though I bring you this deliverance, yet will I 
bring you a greater, when I shall bring nxy servant 
the branch. Thus Jonathan. Kimchi. 

Branch : this is Zerubbabel, as it is said — his 
name is the branch; and the end of the section 
refers to Zerubbabel. But many commentators 
explain it of the Messiah, called Zerubbabel, be- 
cause of his posterity, as (it is said) — and David 
my servant (shall be) a prince over them forever. § 
Aben Ezra. 

* Lit., draws near. t Verse 13. 

t Verses 11, 13. Dr. M'Caul, in his translation of Zechariah, 
seems to have read ipj-j instead of j^j-j from v. 13, as in Buxtorf 
and the Bomberg ; for he translates it, " that is," and regards it as 
explanatory of the words " many nations." 

§ Ezek. xxxvii. 25. 



, 



ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 203 

VIII. 1. ss. This section is one of consolation, 
and refers to the time of the Messiah, when Gog 
and Magog shall come to make war upon Jeru- 
salem. 

12. I will cause to possess. This mav possi- 
bly relate to the second temple, but the following 
verse shows that it refers to the coming of the 
Messiah, for it says, O house of Judah and house 
of Israel, and the Israelites did not return during 
the second temple. 

20. This will take place when Messiah comes. 
Kimchi. 

IX. 9. ss. It is not possible to explain this of 
any other than king Messiah, of whom it is said — 
he shall rule from sea to sea, and no such ruler 
appeared during the continuance of the second 
temple. Jarchi.* 

XII. lss. This will take place on the return of • 
Israel with Messiah the son of Joseph to Jerusalem. 

10. And I will pour : I will pour the spirit of 
peace and supplications upon the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem. Before this trouble shall come upon 
them at the beginning, because they killed Mes- 
siah son of Joseph. Then the Lord will be an- 
gry, and will destroy all the nations that came 

* Kimchi gives the same explanation. Aben Ezra interprets this 
and several other places in Zechariah,of some one of the Asmonaean 
princes. But Abarbanel expresses his surprise at such an exposition 
of this place, and shows in detail that the exposition of Aben Ezra is 
untenable. See M'Caul on Zechariah, p. 94. 



204 COMMENTARY ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 

against Jerusalem. And this is (what is meant 
by) — and they shall look on him ; then all the na- 
tions will look to me, to see what I will do to those 
who pierced Messiah, son of Joseph. 

XIV. 4. And his feet shall stand : Behold a 
sign and a wonder which the Lord will perform 
in that day ; nothing of which has been accom- 
plished until the present time. 

11. And they shall dwell in it : securely, with 
the Schekinah. Then will come Messiah, son 
of David. Aben Ezra. 



EXTRACTS 

FROM THE 

YAD OF MAIMOIIDES. 



TRADITIONARY DECISIONS-, 

OR 

CONSTITUTIONS RELATING TO THE WORSHIPPERS 

OF STARS AND PLANETS, AND STATUTES 

REFERRING TO THEM. 



CHAPTER FIRST. 



1. In the time of Enos, mankind committed a 
great error, and the counsel of the wise men of 
that generation became brutish, and Enos himself 
was one of those who erred. Their error was 
this. They said, inasmuch as God created the 
stars and orbs to regulate the world, and set them 
on high, and gave them glory, as they are attend- 
ants that serve before him, they are worthy of 
being praised and honored and of having glory 
give to them. And this is the will of God, the 
blessed one, that we should magnify and honor 
whomsoever he hath magnified and honored, as a 
king is pleased to honor those who stand in his 
presence : and this (indeed) is to honor the king 
himself. 



208 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

2. After this consideration* had arisen in their 
minds, they began to build temples to the stars, 
and to present offerings to them, and to praise and 
honor them in words, and to worship before them, 
in order to obtain the favor of the Creator through 
their mischievous opinion. This was the founda- 
tion of idolatry, and thus did they affirm who 
practised it and knew on what ground it rested ; 
not that they maintained that there was no God 
but the stars. And thus Jeremiah says : who 
would not fear thee, O king of nations ? for to 
thee doth it appertain ; (or, thee doth it become ;) 
forasmuch as among all the wise men of the 
nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none 
like unto thee, but they are altogether brutish and 
foolish, the stock is a doctrine of vanities :f that 
is to say, they all know that thou art God alone, f 
but their error and their folly consist in imagining 
that vanity to be thy will. 

3. But after a long time, false prophets rose 
up among men, who alleged that God had com- 
manded them to worship some particular star 
or the stars in general, to present offerings and 
libations to it according to some prescribed man- 
ner,^ to build a temple for it, and to make an 

* Lit., thing, matter. He means the train of thought just ex- 
pressed, t x. 7, 8. 

t The Hebrew is simply &OH HtT\fo but the meaning is as I 
have given it. Comp. ^IH *0& an( * the context in Isa. xliii. 13. 

§ Lit., thus and thus. 



YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 209 

image of it, in order that all the people, the Women 
and children, and other inhabitants of the country, 
might worship it. He* also showed them an im- 
age of his own devising,! and said, that this was 
the image of that particular star which had been 
made known J to him in his prophecy. In this 
way they began to make images in temples, and 
cinder the trees, and on the tops of the mountains, 
and on the hills ; and they assembled together 
and worshipped them, and said to all the people, 
that this image did good and evil, and it was 
proper to serve and fear it. The priests told 
them also, that by serving it they would multiply 
and prosper, and prescribed to them what they 
should do, and what they should avoid. <§> 

4. Other deceivers then began to arise, and 
to declare, that the star itself or the orb or the 
angel spake with them, and said to them, worship 
me in this or that manner, and taught them the 
mode of his service, directing what they should 
do, and what they should avoid. And this matter 
spread over all the World, so that the images were 
worshipped || with services differing from each 



* That is, some one of the false prophets. 

t Lit., which he had devised of his heart. See 1 Kings xii. 33. 

% Lit., Which they had made known. 

§ The original is in the future and imperative. Literally : you 
shall multiply and prosper, and do so and so, and you shall not do so 
and so. 

|j Lit, to worship images. 
10 



210 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

other, and offerings were presented, and adora- 
tion was paid to them. 

5. Again, after a long time, the glorious and 
venerable God was forgotten* by all men,t and 
ceased to be mentioned or thought of, and they 
became ignorant of him. And all the people of 
the earth, and the women and children, were 
found to know nothing but the image of wood and 
of stone, and the temple of stones, to which from 
childhood they were taught to pay adoration and 
divine worship, and b}~ the name of which they 
were accustomed to swear. Even the wise men 
that were among them, as their priests and others 
of that class, thought that there was no God but 
the stars and the orbs, on whose account and in 
whose likeness those images were made. But 
the everlasting rock! — there was not a man who 
acknowledged him, neither did any know him, a 
few individuals in the world excepted, as Enoch 
and Methuselah, Noah, Shem and Eber. And in 
this way was the world going on and revolving, 



* Lit., was forgotten from the mouth of all men and from their 
minds. I have followed the text as given in the edition of the Yad, 
which was published by Joseph Athias, at Amsterdam, in four vo- 
lumes, folio, 1702, which has nDrVlTO' Vossius however reads 
^p£""ltD5 was destroyed, perished. If this reading be preferred 
tDTBn wou1 ^ perhaps be best rendered the name, referring to the 
appellation Jehovah, and the character of God, which it implies. 

t Lit., every living thing. See Gen. vii. 4, 23. 

t Or, the rock of the world. See the note on the seventh chapter 
on the foundations of the lav,*, section 10. 



YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 211 

until the pillar* of the world was born, our father 
Abraham. 

6. After this mighty one was weaned, he began 
to revolvef in his mind while yet a child, and he 
began to think day and night, and it was a sub- 
ject of wonder to him, how it was possible that 
this orb should be continually moving on, while 
there was no one to cause and direct its move- 
ments. And who causes it (to move) ? since it 
is impossible that it should cause itself. But he 
had no teacher, none who could tell him anything ; 
on the contrary, he was overwhelmed, in Ur of 
the Chaldees, among stupid idolators ; and his 
father, and his mother, and the whole nation, 
worshipped the stars and planets, and he along 
with them. But he revolved in his mind and 
considered until he reached the way of truth, and 
comprehended the rulej of righteousness by his 
own correct understanding. And thus he knew 
that there is one God, and that he caused the orb 
to move, and he created all things, and that among 
all beings he alone is God. He knew also that 
the whole world was in error, and that the cause 
of their falling into this error was, that they had 

* Comp., the use of errv'AOi in Gal. ii. 9, and of columen in Horace, 
Carm. Lib. ii. Od. 17, 5. 

t Lit., to move to and fro. See Dan. xii. 4. It conveys the idea 
of careful investigation and search. Although much of the author's 
statement is evidently founded on tradition, a large proportion of it 
is in itself highly probable. 

t Lit., line. 



212 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

worshipped the stars and the images, until the 
truth was lost from their minds. And Abraham 
was forty years old when he knew his Creator. 

7. On obtaining a proper knowledge of him,* 
he began to enter into controversy with the people 
of Ur of the Chaldees, and to reply to their argu- 
ments,! and to say, the course ye are pursuing 
is not that of truth. And he broke the images, 
and began to teach the people, that the only being 
to whom divine worship ought to be paid was the 
God of the world, and that to him adoration ought 
to be given, and offerings and libations presented, 
in order that all future generations^: should know 
him ; and that it was right to destroy and break 
in pieces all the images, lest they should be em- 
ployed to lead all the people into the same error 
as they had fallen into who imagined, that there 
was no other God but these. 

8. After he had prevailed against them by his 
reasons, the king endeavored to put him to death, 
but a miracle; was wrought for him,§ and he went 

* Lit., after he had acknowledged and known. 

t The reader of the original will perceive, that I have transposed 
the author's arrangement, in order to adapt it to our mode of speaking. 
The literal translation is as follows : he began to return answers to 
the children of Ur of the Chaldees, and to enter into controversy with 
them. 

X Lit., all the creatures that are coming. 

§ The author alludes to the Rabbinical tale of Abraham's mira- 
culous deliverance from the fire (Heb. "1 "]£$>) of the Chaldees, into 
which the king had commanded him to be thrown. 



YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 213 

out to Haran, and began to stand* and proclaim 
with a loud voice to all the people,f and to teach 
them that there i3 one God of the whole world, 
who ought to be served. And he went on, pro- 
claiming and collecting the people, from city 
to city and from kingdom to kingdom, until he 
arrived at the land of Canaan, and he (continued) 
proclaiming, as it is said — and he called there on 
the name of the Lord, the God of the world. t 

9. And after the people had assembled to 
him, and made inquiries of him respecting his 
discourses, he instructed each individual accord- 
ing to his intellectual ability, until he brought him 
back to the way of truth, until thousands and 
myriads assembled to him. And these were the 
men of Abraham's house, and he implanted in 
their minds this great fundamental principle, and 
composed books in relation to it, and taught it to 
his son Isaac. And Isaac settled as instructor 

"nfa^b Vossius renders this, ibique consistens. But the in- 
finitive is evidently connected with the words that precede and follow, 
and although Abraham did spend a considerable time in Haran, it 
was not the author's intention to say any thing on this subject. He 
either refers to the patriarch as a public speaker standing up in the 
presence of the multitude, or, as I rather think, employs the word to 
denote his attention and perseverance in proclaiming the doctrine of 
the one true God. The Hebrew word is thus used. See Gesenius m 
*1)22 I. 2 ; and comp. Isa. lxi. 5. Mic. v. 3. (4.) 

t Lit., the world. 

t Gen. xxi. 33. Our English translation renders ^V^jr ^S* 
everlasting God. And this is most probably correct, but the context 
shows that Maimonides understood it as I have rendered it. 



214 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

and admonisher, and Isaac taught it to Jacob, and 
appointed him to teach, and he settled* as in- 
structor and admonisher of all those who attached 
themselves to him. And Jacob our father taught 
all his sons, and he separated Levi, and appointed 
him head, and placed him in a school, to teach 
the way of God, and to observe the commands 
of Abraham ; and he commanded his sons not to 
separate from the sons of Levi the chief, in order 
that the doctrine should not be forgotten. 

10. Thus the trutht was continually increas- 
ing in strength among the sons of Jacob and their 
adherents, and there was formed in the world a 
people that knew the Lord, until the Israelites had 
spent a long time among the Egyptians. Then 
they turned to learn their works, and to worship 
stars and planets like them, except the tribe of 
Levi who adhered to the commandments of the 
fathers, and never practised idolatry. Thus the 
fundamental principle which Abraham had im- 
planted was almost cut off and rooted out, and 



•The original is h^i. If this is the root, the meaning will 
be as given in the text. But if it be derived from h^w to return, it 
must be taken adverbially, thus : and again Isaac or Jacob became 
an instructor ; intimating that the heads of the patriarchal family 
were successively teachers of true religion. In this case, however, 
the ordinary usage would require this verb to be immediately fol- 
lowed by another. Maimonides seems to have confounded the future 
divine choice of the family of Levi with some supposed arrangement 
of the patriarch Jacob. 

+ Lit., the thing or word. 



TAD OF MAIMONIDES. 215 

the children of Jacob returned* to the error of the 
world and their impieties. 

11. But God, on account of his love towards 
us, and because he would keep the oath (which 
he sware) to Abraham our father, constituted 
Moses our master the master of all the prophets, 
and sent him. After Moses our master had exer- 
cised his prophetic office, and God had chosen 
Israel for an inheritance, he crowned them with 
the commandments and taught them the way of 
his service, and what judgment should be pro- 
nounced on those who worship stars and planets $ 
-and on all who imitate their error.. 

* This is a literal translation of the original. Mr. Bernard seems 
disposed to modify the direct assertion of Maimonides respecting their 
-ancestors. He introduces in brackets the qualifying phrase " had 
nearly," and adds in a note — " literally : and the children of Jacob 
[would have] come back or returned." The Old Testament exhibits 
•abundant evidence, that such modification is entirely unauthorized. 



TRADITIONARY DECISIONS 



CONSTITUTIONS ON THE FOUNDATIONS 
OF THE LAW. 



CHAPTER SEVENTH. 



1. It belongs to the foundations* of the law, to 
know that God enables men to prophesy. And 
prophecy falls only on a wise man, eminent for 
wisdom, mighty in subduing hispropensities, whose 
natural inclination does not overpower him in any 
thing, but who continually conquers by his knowl- 
edge his natural inclination, and who is a man of 
an enlarged and well regulated mind.f 

2. [The author then proceeds to say, that in 
such a man, intelligent, wise, holy, removed from 
all worldly associations, and absorbed by heavenly 
contemplations, the Holy Spirit will rest ; that he 

* By this phrase the author intends to denote first principles, as 
he says in the very beginning of his work, the foundation of founda- 
tions and the pillar of wisdom is, to know that there is a first being, 
and he is the producer of every other being. 

t Or, the original may be rendered thus : who possesses exten- 
sive and well arranged knowledge. 



YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 217 

intermingles with that grade of angels who are 
called ishim,* and becomes quite a different being 
from what he was before.] 

3. There are different grades of prophets. As 
one wise man is superior in wisdom to his com- 
panion, so also one prophet is greater in prophecy 
than another. But they all see the prophetic ap- 
pearance only in a dream, in a vision at night or 
by day, after a deep sleep hath fallen on them ; as 
it is said, I will make myself known unto him in a 
vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.f And 
(as to) all of them, when they prophesy, their 
limbs tremble, and their physical strength fails, 
and their thoughts become overwhelmed. Then 
the mind is left free to comprehend what it may 
perceive ; as it is said of Abraham— and lo, a hor- 
ror of great darkness fell upon him if and as it is 
said of Daniel, <§> and my comeliness was turned 
in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. || 

* tJ^IEP&fcj men. This terra is applied by the Rabbies to their tenth 
and lowest degree of angels, because they are supposed to be nearest 
to men, and to make communications to the prophets. Chap. ii. 
sect. 8, 9, 10. 

t Num. xii. 6. t Gen. xv. 12. § Dan. x. 8. 

|| Vorst, in his notes on this section, remarks, that Rabbi Albo 
reduces the prophetic grades to four. The first and lowest is, when 
a man by the Spirit bursts out in the praises of God, so as to carry 
away his hearers in admiration by deep wisdom and graceful oratory, 
while he himself does not know whence this knowledge has co^e to 
him. To this class of prophets David and Solomon are referred. 
The second grade is, when the imaginative and rational faculties are 
both equally affected. The third, when appearances of things are 

10* 



218 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

4. Things which are made known to a pro- 
phet in prophetic vision, are made known to him 
parabolically (or by symbol,) and immediately the 
interpretation of the parable (or symbol,) is en- 
graven on his mind in prophetic vision, and he 
knows its meaning. Thus the ladder which our 
father Jacob saw, on which angels were ascen- 
ding,* was a symbol of kingdoms and their sub- 
jection. Thus also the living creatures which Eze- 
kiel saw,f and the boiling pot and the rod of an 
almond tree which Jeremiah saw,J and the roll 
which Ezekiel saw,f and the ephah which Zech- 
ariah saw ;§ and thus of the other prophets. Some 
among them, like these, relate the symbol and its 
interpretation ; some the interpretation only : and 
others again often relate the symbol merely with- 
out the interpretation, as (is the case) partly with 
the language of Ezekiel and Zechariah : but all of 
them prophesied by parable (or symbol,) and enig- 
matically. || 

really discerned, and the intellectual faculty prevails over the ima- 
ginative ; as was the case in the visions of Ezekiel. The fourth, 
which is the highest degree, is when the prophetic revelation is per- 
ceived without the aid of the imaginative faculty, and accomplished 
without the sight of any appearance or angel. Whoever has arrived 
at this grade, it it is said, ought not to be denominated a man, but an 
angel. This excellence is peculiar to Moses. 

* Gen. xxviii. 12. t i. 5, ss. ; ii. 9. 

t i. 11, 13. §v. 6. 

|| Vorst observes, that, in addition to this method of prophesying 
by objects of sight or signs, another may be added, namely, by words 
or actions. By words, as when Messiah, Antichrist, the state of the 



YAD OF MAIMON1DES. 2 19 

5. All the prophets did not prophesy at any 
time, according to their inclination ; but they pre- 
pared their minds and sat alone, joyous and cheer- 
ful, since prophecy does not dwell with sorrow 
and inertness, but with joy. The sons of the pro- 
phets, therefore, (had) before them the nablaf and 
the tabret and the pipe and the harp, and (thus) 
they sought prophecy :f and this is what is meant 
by — -and they prophesied ;$ that is, they went in 
the way of prophecyf until they did prophesy ; as 
if you should say, such an one makes himself 
great. Those who sought to prophesy were called 
sons of the prophets : but notwithstanding their 
preparation of mind, it still remained uncertain 
whether the shechinah would rest upon them 
or not. 

6. All that we have said relates to the mode 
of prophecy common to all the prophets, both for- 
mer and later, except Moses our master, the chief 
of all the prophets. And what is the difference 
between the prophetic gift of Moses and that of 
all the other prophets ? That all the prophets 
saw in a dream or in a vision, but Moses our mas- 
ter saw while awake and standing, as it is said ; 

Church, and so forth, are predicted ; and by actions, as when Ezekiel 
is commanded to do certain things. Several of the latter cases, how- 
ever, are comprehended under the author's idea of parable or symbol, 

* A sort of lyre or harp. 

t He means, they adopted the proper means to fit themselves for 
becoming prophets, they behaved like prophets. 

t Or, made themselves prophecy: tP^^JTlfa* 



220 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

and when Moses went to the tabernacle of the 
congregation to speak with him, then he heard the 
voice of him speaking to him.* 

7. The prophets in general (received divine 
communications) through the instrumentality of an 
angel ; therefore they saw what they saw in para- 
ble (or figure, or symbol,) and enigmatically : 
Moses our master not through an angel, as it is 
said — with him will I speak mouth to mouth.f 
And it is said — and the Lord spoke to Moses face 
to face :J and again — and the similitude of the 
Lord shall he behold.f By all which it is indi- 
cated, § that there was no figure (or symbol,) but 
he saw the thing clearly without any figure. And 
this is what the law attests respecting him : — in 
evident appearance, and not in enigmas ;|| (mean- 
ing) that he did not prophesy in a dark, enigmat- 
ical manner, but perspicuously, because he saw 
the thing clearly. 

8. The prophets in general were afraid and 
troubled, and melted away (as it were through 
terror,) but Moses our master was not so. And 
this is implied where it is said^" — as a man speak- 
eth with his friend ; that is, as a man is not troub- 
led at the words of his companion, so was there 

* Num. vii. 89. + Num. xii. 8. 

t Exod. xxxiii. 11. § Lit., that is to say. 

|| Num. xii. 8. The English translation is, " even apparently 
and not in dark speeches." 

IT Exod. xxxiii. 11. Lit , this is what the scripture saith. 



YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 221 

force of mind in Moses our master, to understand 
the words of prophecy, and to stand firm and un- 
moved.* 

9. The prophets in general did not prophesy 
whenever they were disposed to do so. With 
Moses our master the case was otherwise, for the 
Holy Spirit came upon himf and prophecy rested 
on him at any time that he desired ; neither was 
it necessary for him to compose and prepare his 
mind for it, for indeed he was (always) composed 
and prepared, and stood like the ministering angels. 
Therefore he prophesied at anytime, as it is said 
— stand and I will hear what the Lord will com- 
mand concerning you.J And by this God gave 
him confidence, as it is said — go, say to them, 

* Lit., and he stands perfectly (or safely) in his position. The 
original is, Q^tB T"l?35? b^ TO"!^ ^ini 1 which is rendered by 
Vorst, et perfectus in sua permauebat constantia, and by Bernard, 
" whilst retaining all its faculties unimpaired." The idea given by 
these learned men is undoubtedly implied, but the direct meaning of 
the words is, I think, as I have translated them. There appears to 
be a reference to what is said in Daniel viii. 17, 18: "so he came 
near where / stood," 1^72^ — " and he touched me and set me up- 
right," ^^^2^ 5^ "0T?2^*H ne ma de me stand in my place 
This agrees with what the author had said before, in the sixth section, 
" Moses saw while awake and standing," ^)2°\^' 

t Lit., clothed him. Comp. Judges vi. 34, and other similar places. 
Here it may be remarked, that in scripture the figure of clothing does 
not denote the outward appearance merely. It is almost always 
employed to express the reality of the character, or disposition, or 
influence with which it is connected. See Job viii. 22. Ps. xxxv. 
26 ; cix. 17-19. (18-20.) Isa. lix. 17 ; lxi. 10. Rom. xiii. 14. 
t Num. ix. 8. 



222 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

return to your tents, but do thou stand here by 
me.* 

10. Hencet you learn that the prophets in gen- 
eral, when the prophecy departed from them, re- 
turned to their tents, that is, (yielded) to all their 
bodily requirements, like other people ; and con- 
sequently they did not live apart from their wives. 
But Moses our master did not return to his former 
tent, therefore he kept apart from the woman (or 
wife) forever, and from every other,:]: and his 
mind became firmly attached to the everlasting 
rock,§ and the glory never departed from him, and 
his face shone, and he became (or appeared) sanc- 
tified like the angels. 

11. The prophetic gift of a prophet may in- 
deed be intended exclusively for himself, to en- 
large his mind and to increase his knowledge, 
until he became acquainted with what he did not 
before know of these great rriatters. But he may 
also be sent to some of the various nations of the 
earth, || or to the men of a city or kingdom, in or- 
der to direct them aright, and to show them what 

* Deut. v. 30, 31. t Lit., behold. 

t Lit., from the like of her. See the note on Kimchi's Commen- 
tary on Hosea, p. 170. It is unnecessary to note, that this Rabbinical 
gloss adopted by Maimonides is far fetched and extravagant. 

§ Or, the rock of the world, as Vorst and Bernard render the 
original. The author most probably refers to Isaiah xxvi. 4, where 
the Syriac and Septuagint both have everlasting. And this agrees 
best with the context and the general style of scripture. 

|| Lit., to a people of the peoples of the earth. 



YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 223 

they ought to do, or with the view of restraining 
them from the wicked works which they were 
practising.* And when he is sent, a sign or a 
wonderf is givenj to him, in order that the people 
may know, that God hath really sent him. 

* Lit., which were in their hands. 

t A sign or a wonder ; that is, the power of working one. Thus, 
in Psalm lxxii. 1, "judgment and righteousness" are used for the. 
faculty of exercising them ; in 1 Cor. xii. 7, " the manifestation of the 
Spirit" signifies the ability to display certain gifts which he had im- 
parted ; and most probably, in Matt. xiv. 2, di Suvdy.uz means the 
power of working miracles, which Herod imagined to be influencing 
the risen John. 

X The words in the original are plural, and the agent is implied. 
The literal translation would be ; — when they send him, they give 
him. And so in the next section, where the participles are in the 
plural, although I have translated the clauses — " he is sustained — we 
sustain them." In the preceding chapter also, on the origin of idolatry, 
section third, what is rendered — " which had been made known to 
him," is literally, which they had made known to him. This usage 
is very common in Hebrew. Thus Maimonides says — " they pardon 
him," — for, he is pardoned; " they judge him," — meaning, he is 
judged, (for future judgment is the subject,) " according to his ac- 
tions ; " and immediately afterwards — " they award to him good, 
and — evil." See his Treatise on Repentance, chap. L sect. 7 ; chap. 
v. sect. 6. Several other instances of this idiom may be found in 
the same work, as in chap v. sect. 6, towards the end ; chap. vi. 
sect. 2, where the plural occurs twice for — it (or he) should be pun- 
ished ; chap. vii. sect. 8, and other places. We find also the same 
usage in the book of Daniel. Thus, in ii. 30 : " this secret is not 
revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, 
but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the 
king:" literally, in order that they may make known, &c. Our 
English translation is exceedingly unfortunate ; indeed it gives no 
intelligible sense, and betrays a want of acquaintance with the idiom 
of the original : "for their sakes that shall make known the inter- 



224 EXTRACTS FROM THE 

12. But we do not believe every one that works 
a sign or a wonder to be a prophet, but only the 
man whom we have known from the beginning* 
to have been fit for prophecy : to have raised him- 
self by his wisdom and his works above all the 
men of his age, and to have walked in the way of 
prophecy, in holiness and separation.! After- 
terwards, (if) he come and do a sign or a wonder, 
and say that God hath sent him, the command is to 
hear him, as it is said — unto him shall ye hearken.J 

13. It is possible also that (a man) may work 
a sign or a wonder without being a prophet. In 
such a case the sign is suspicious, and still the 
command is to hearken to him. Inasmuch as he 
was a great and wise man, and fit for prophecy, 
he is sustained (as a prophet,) on the presumptive 
evidence of his claims. For thus we are com- 
manded ; as we are also commanded to decide a 

pretation to the king." — Also in iii. 4, " it is commanded," is literally, 
they command ; iv. 13, (16.) " let his heart be changed," is literally, 
let them change ; and this is followed by the passive singular — " and 
let a beast's heart be given." Comp. also 22, (25,) and v. 21. 
See also Num. xv. 34, where the Hebrew t2J13> was explained, 
made known, is translated in the Sept. <ruviH.£ivtx.v. It is not impro- 
bable, that the plural " they may receive," in Luke xvi. 9, may be 
used in accordance w T iththe same idiom. The language of the whole 
verse has an evident bearing on the narration before given of the 
unjust steward's conduct ; but this is not at all inconsistent with the 
supposition just stated. 

* Lit., from his beginning. It may mean, from his early years. 

t Separation from whatever is carnal and worldly. 

t Deut. xviil 15. 



YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 225 

cause on the authority* of two proper witnesses. 
They may indeed have testified falsely ; yet, in- 
asmuch as, in our estimation,! they are proper 
persons, we sustain them on the presumption that 
they are so.$ And respecting these and other 
similar matters, it is said ; — the secret things be- 
long unto the Lord our God, but those things 
which have been revealed, to us and to our chil- 
dren ;§ and it is said — -for man looketh on the out- 
ward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the 
heart. || 

* Lit., at the mouth. t Lit, with us. 

X Lit., on account of their fitness. 

§ Deut. xxix. 28, (29.) 1! 1 Sara. xyI ?, 



EXTRACTS 



FROM THE 



MOREH NEYOCHIM OF 
MAIMOIIDES. 



FROM THE MOREH NEVOCHIM. 



PART II. CHAPTER XLI. 

It is not necessary for me to explain the meaning 
of a dream, but (only of) a vision, of which it is 
said,* I will make myself known unto him in a 
vision ; and this is what is called prophetic vision, 
and it is denoted also by the phrase — the hand of 
the Lord, and also by the word, JiTHfa* sight. It 
is a fearful thing, producing terror, which seizes 
the prophetf in a time when he is awake, as it is 
evidently stated in Daniel, where he says : and I 
saw this great vision, and there remained no 
strength in me, for my comeliness was turned in 
me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 
And (again) he says : and I was in a deep sleep 
upon my face, and my face toward the ground.J 
And indeed the discourse of the angel, and his 
making him stand up, all took place in prophetic 
vision. And, in such circumstances the senses are 

* Lit., and as to it they say. Num. xii. 6. 

t Lit, is joined to. t Dan. x. 8, 9. 



230 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 

quiescent ;* and this influence comes to the rational 
faculty, and hence effects the imaginative, and 
thus perfectly accomplishes its work.f Some- 
times prophecy begins in prophetic vision, and af- 
terwards that terror increases, and the deep dis- 
tress;]: which takes place, when the operations of 
the imagination are completed ; and then comes 
prophecy. And thus it came to Abraham, of 
whom it occurs in the beginning of the$ prophecy, 

• Lit., cease from their operations. 

t The author's meaning is, that in divine communications there 
is made to the imagination a representation of what is predicted, the 
nature and import of which are perceived by the understanding, 
which of course retains its natural ability, and is so divinely influ- 
enced as to enable it to comprehend the meaning of what is thus 
communicated. Hence it is well remarked by Dr. John Smith, in 
his valuable discourse on Prophecy, " that the prophetic spirit doth 
never alienate the mind, seeing it seats itself as well in the rational 
powers as in the sensitive, but always maintains a consistency and 
clearness of reason and solidity of judgment, where it comes ; it doth 
not ravish the mind, but inform and enlighten it." This he proceeds 
to contrast with a pretended spirit of prophecy, of which he says 
afterwards : " The prince of darkness comes not within the sphere of 
light and reason to order affairs there, but that is left to the sole 
ceconomy and sovereignty of the Father of lights. There is a clear 
and bright heaven in man's soul, in which Lucifer himself cannot 
subsist, but is tumbled down from thence, as often as he essays to 
climb up into it." Smith's Ten Discourses were published in one 
quarto volume, in 1660, and this on Prophecy may be found in Wat- 
son's Theological Tracts, Vol. IV. pp. 297 — 362. It contains the 
views on this subject of the more prominent of the Jewish Rabbies. 
The passages above quoted may be found on pages 314 and 317 of 
the Tracts. 

% Lit., strong suffering. 

§ Lit., that. He means the one referred to immediately after. 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 231 

the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vis- 
ion, and in the end of it, and a deep sleep fell 
upon Abram, and so forth; and afterward, and 
he said to Abram.* 

Know also, that all the prophets who men- 
tion prophecy as coming to them, ascribe it either 
to an angel, or to the blessed God, although it was 
by means of an angel without doubt. On this point, 
our rabbies of blessed memory long ago delivered 
their opinion, in explaining, and the Lord said to 
her,f thus : by means of an angel. And know 
further, that whenever it is written that an angel 
spake with one, or that the word of the Lord came 
to him, this has not taken place in any other way 
than in a dream or in prophetic vision. 

There is an ancient agadaj respecting com- 
munications made to the prophets, as they are 
recounted in the prophetic books, which states 
that§ they were made in four ways. First : the 
prophet makes known that the communication 
was made by an angel in a dream or vision. Sec- 
ondly : he merely mentions the communication of 
the angel to him, without explaining that it was 
made in a dream or vision, because of the well 
established principle, || that prophecy is confined 

* Gen. xv. 1, 12, 13. t Gen. xxv. 23. 

X This word is used by the Rabbies to denote a discourse, histori- 
cal, theological, or mystical, on some portion of scripture. 
§ Lit., according to which. 
II Lit, because it rests on what was before known. 



232 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 

to one or other of these two methods : I will make 
myself known to him in a vision, I will speak unto 
him in a dream.* Thirdly : the angel is not men- 
tioned at all, but the communication is ascribed 
to God the blessed one, who speaks it to him, but 
who makes known that it comes to him in a vis- 
ion or dream. Fourthly: the prophet simply de- 
clares that God spoke to him, or said to him, do 
this, or, say this, without explaining either by 
mentioning an angel or by mentioning a dream, on 
account of the well established fundamental prin- 
ciple, that prophecy or prophetic revelation comes 
only in dream or in vision, and through the agen- 
cy of an angel. 

As an illustration of the first of these ways, it 
is said ; and the angel of God spake unto me in a 
dream, Jacob :f and the angelj said unto Balaam. 
Of the second, we have as follows : and God said 
unto Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel ; — and God said 
unto him, thy name is Jacob ;§ — and the angel of 
the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the 
second time :|| — and God said to Noah.^[ Of the 

* Num. xii. 6. t Gen. xxxi. 11. 

X Num. xxii. 12. In the original the word is Q^Hb^' which 
Maimonides understands of an angel. But he is undoubtedly mis- 
taken, as there is no reason for abandoning the usual sense of the 
term. 

§ Gen. xxxv. 1, 10. 

|| Gen. xxii. 15. It is quite preposterous to suppose that this was 
done in a dream or vision, the circumstances in which Abraham was 
placed, show that it was an audible communication made to him 
while awake. If Gen. vii. 1. 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 233 

third is that which is said : the word of the Lord 
came to Abram in a vision.* Of the fourth are 
such as these ; and the Lord said unto Abraham ; 
and the Lord said unto Jacob, return ; and the 
Lord said unto Joshua ; and the Lord said unto 
Gideon. t And thus also, it is often said, and the 
Lord said unto me ; and the word of the Lord was 
to me ; and the word of the Lord was ; and behold, 
the word of the Lord was to him ; the beginning 
of the word of the Lord by Hosea; the hand of 
the Lord was upon me.f This class is exceed- 
ingly numerous. 

Whatever is communicated in any of these 
four ways is prophecy, and the speaker a prophet. 
But that of which it is said, and God came to such 
an one in a dream at night, is not necessarily pro- 
phecy, nor the man (of whom it is said) a prophet : 
for such communication may be merely sugges- 
tion from God§ to that man, and afterwards it is 
•explained to us that the suggestion was made in 
a dream. For, inasmuch as God is the occasion, 
that one man is incited to deliver another or to put 
him to death, so is God the occasion (cause) 

* Gen. xii. 1. 

t Gen. xxxi. 3. Joshua iii. 7. Judges vii. 2. 

X Isa. viii. I. Ezek. xxiv. 20, ss. 1 Kings xix. 9. Hosea i. 1. 
Ezek. xxxvii. 1. 

§ Lit., for the sense of it may be, that suggestion came from God- 
1 have rendered the original word Hl^H suggestion, supposing it 
to be from *"P2?> to rouse, wake up, excite attention. But I am by 
410 means certain that this is the author's meaning. 
11 



2^4 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 

of the production of those things which he wishes 
to be produced in a dream at night. For we can- 
not doubt that Lab an the Syrian was a thoroughly 
wicked man, and also an idolater ; and although 
Abimelech was a good man among his people, 
yet of old Abraham our father said of* his country 
and of his kingdom — surely tbe fear of God is not 
in this place.f And yet of each of these two, that 
is to say, of Laban and Abimelech, tbe same lan- 
guage occurs : and God came to Abimelech in a 
dream by night.t Observe also this, and consider 
the difference between its being said,<§> and God 
came, and its being said, and God spake ; and be- 
tween its being said, in a dream by night, and its 
being said, in vision, by night. Of Jacob it is said, |[ 
and God spake unto Israel in visions of the night ;M 
but of Laban and Abimelech, and God came and 
so forth. And all this is explained by Onkelos, 
(thus :) and the word came from the Lord ; but he 
does not say of those two, and the Lord revealed 
himself. 

Furthermore it ought to be known,** that the 
expression — and the Lord said to such an one — is 

• Buxtorf, in his translation adds, of himself, de ipso. On what 
authority I do not know. It would seem to be inconsistent with what 
the author had said immediately before, that Abimelech was a good 
man among his people, when it is considered that he 6ets him in 
contradistinction to the idolatrous and wicked Laban. 

t Gen. xx. 11. t Gen. xx. 3. xxxi. 24. 

6 Lit,, his saying. II Lit, it comes, occurs. 

K xlvi. 2. ** Lit., knew thou. 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 235 

used, when, strictly speaking, he has no prophetic 
vision,* but the communication is made to him by 
means of a prophet. And thus it is written ; and 
she went to enquire of the Lord.f And they J say 
plainly, (she went) to the school of Shem and 
Eber, and he§ answered her ; and yet|| it is said 
in reference to him, and the Lord said to her. And 
although the expression — and the Lord said unto 
her — is elsewhere^] explained to mean, through the 
agency of an angel ; yet this must be understood, 
either of Eber himself, the term angel, (mes- 
senger,) being often applied to a prophet, as I have 
prored ; or the angel who came to Eber in that 
prophecy is signified ; or else it will be (intended) 
to show, that whenever you find the communica- 
tion ascribed directly and absolutely to God, it 
was made by means of an angel. And this was 
the case with respect to the other prophets, as we 
have shown. 

* Lit., and this was not to such an one, and prophetic vision did 
not come to him at all. 

t Gen. xxv. 22. t That is, the Rabbies. 

§ That is, one of them, meaning Eber, whom he afterwards 
mentions. Or, it, that is, the school. 

(I I have followed the Latin nihilominus of Buxtorf, which the 
context seems to require. The Hebrew is "H"!^^^ Does the 
author mean, in the continuance, passing on, of the narrative ? 

IT By the Rabbies. The literal translation is, although it is also 
said, and the Lord said unto her, by means of an angel, — The reader 
cannot fail to perceive that the Rabbinical exposition which the author 
here sanctions is unfounded and extravagant. 



23G EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 



CHAPTERS XLII— XLV. 

The author continues the subject in these 
chapters. He remarks, that it is a matter of indif- 
ference whether the appearance of an angel is 
originally mentioned ; or whether it would seem, 
from the narrative, that at first the prophet suppo- 
ses him to be a mere man, but towards the end 
becomes satisfied that he is an angel. He illus- 
trates this principle by the remarkable instances 
stated in Gen. xviii. and xxxii. and even applies 
it to the history in Num. xxii. which he supposes 
to have taken place in prophetic vision ; and also 
to Josh. v. 13. and other places. — In the 43rd 
chapter, he treats of parabolical representations or 
symbols ; in the 44th, of the various ways of which 
the prophet perceived and recognized the divine 
communications ; and in the 45th, of the various 
grades of prophecy, the term being understood in 
a wide and comprehensive sense. He makes 
seven of these grades, as follows. 

1. When a man is excited by divine aid to do 
some great and good action. This is the grade 
of all the judges of Israel, and of their most dis- 
tinguished chiefs. The spirit which influenced 
them did not impart the faculty of speaking, but 
of acting. 

2. When a man feels inwardly a matter pres- 
sing upon him, and a power inciting him to speak, 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 237 

and he speaks in wisdom, or expresses his emo- 
tions in praises or elevated exhortation, or in 
moral and divine strains ; and all this in a wakeful 
state, and with the exercise of his senses. Such 
an one is said to speak by the Holy Spirit. Mul- 
titudes of instances occur in scripture, so that any 
specification is unnecessary. 

3. This is the first of that class to which is 
applied the language — and the word of the Lord 
came unto me — or what is equivalent. Here the 
prophet sees the parable or symbol, in a really 
prophetic dream, in which also the meaning of 
the symbol is explained to him. This applies to 
the prophecies of Zechariah. 

4. When the prophet distinctly hears the com- 
munication in the prophetic vision, without seeing 
the speaker ; as in the case of Samuel. 

5. When in a dream a man is made to com- 
municate ; as in some prophecies of Ezekiel, for 
example that in chapter xl. See verse 4.* 

6. When an angel speaks in a dream, which 
is very common. 

7. W T hen it appears to the person in a pro- 
phetic dream, as if God were speaking with him : 
as in the case of Isaiah, vi. 1, and of Micaiah, 
1 Kings xxii. 19.t 

* It is surprising that Maimonides should not have recollected 
what he had stated in the 42nd chapter, for the seeming man is 
doubtless an angel. 

t It is evident, that neither of these instances illustrates the 
author's statement. The former was probably a vision, and the latter 
a parabolical representation. 



238 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 

8. "When a revelation is made to one in pro- 
phetic vision, and he sees parabolical representa- 
tions or symbols ; as in Gen. xv. 

9. When he hears words in a vision ; as in 
Gen. xv. 4. 

10. When he sees a man speaking with him 
in prophetic vision ; as Abraham did among the 
oaks of Mamre. and Joshua at Jericho. 

11. When he sees an angel speaking with 
him in vision ; as on the occasion of the binding 
of Isaac. 

Immediately afterwards the author expresses 
his doubts respecting the three last, and seems 
disposed to reduce the whole number to eight. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

From a single individual, you may draw a con- 
clusion* respecting all the individuals of the class, 
and (thus) it becomes known that the character 
of all the others is the same. And it is my wish 
in this discourse, that from the character of one 
of the prophetic narrations, you may (be able to) 
form a conclusion respecting all the narrations of 
the same kind. 
Agreeably to this design, it is to be understood,! 

•lit, tak« a proof. t Lit., thou wilt know. 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMON1DES. 239 

that, as in a dream a man may seem to have for- 
merly gone to a certain country, to have married a 
wife, and spent a considerable time there, to have 
had by her a son called by some particular name, 
and (to have done) various other matters ; * the 
same is the case also with regard to those pro- 
phetic parables (or symbols) which are seen or 
done in prophetic vision. Whatever that symbol- 
ical representation teaches respecting any of the 
actions or things which the prophet does, the 
space of time indicated by it as intervening be- 
tween different actions, and removals from one 
place to another; all these take place in prophetic 
vision, and they are not to be considered as real 
and sensible actions, although some of them may 
be mentioned in the prophetic books with great 
particularly. For, after it became known that 



* I am not certain that I have given the true meaning of the 
author in this last clause. The original is fifa "l^D^fa ITlm, 
Sl^ntD which Buxtorf understands of the son, and intending to give 
the general thought, translates, et qui talis aut talis fuerit. So also 
Smith, in his discourse on Prophecy, ubi. sup. chap. vi. p. 328 : " of 
such a disposition and the like." Having occasion to quote the pas- 
sage in my Companion to the Book of Genesis, Note 69, p. 252, and 
supposing also that the words referred to the 6on, I had endeavored 
to express the idea loosely, thus : " and of whom this and that may 
be said." It would seem more probable, that Maimonides has in view 
the principal character of his illustration, the man who is dreaming. 
If so, he may mean what I have expressed in the text ; or he may 
refer to the man's business, and the correct translation may be " of 
a certain occupation." The words literally rendered would be, " and 
there was of his matter (or occupation,) that which was." 



240 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 

the whole communication was made in prophetic 
vision, it became unnecessary, in mentioning nny 
particular portion of the parabolical representa- 
tion, to repeat that this took place in prophetic 
vision ; as the prophet says, and the Lord said 
unto me, and it is (equally) unnecessary, to ex- 
plain that it was in a dream. But the people in 
general think, that these actions and removals and 
inquiries and answers did all take place really 
and to sensible apprehension, and not in prophetic 
vision. I will therefore state some instances be- 
yond all doubt, adding to them others of the same 
class, which may serve to explain the cases which 
I have not introduced.* 

Among the instances which are too clear to 
admit of a doubt, is the discourse of Ezekiel :f — I 
was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah 
were sitting before me, and so forth. And the 
spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heav- 
en, and brought me in the visions of God to Jeru- 
salem. Thus also what he says,J and I arose 
and went out into the plain. But it was in vis- 
ions, as it is said of Abraham, and he brought him 
forth abroad and said ; which was in vision.§ 

* For the reader who may not be much accustomed to the author's 
style, I subjoin as close a translation of this sentence as the English 
idiom will bear. " And I will mention to thee of such (lit. this,) that 
which a man will not doubt about, and I will add to it some which 
are of its kind ; from this some (or part) that which I have not men- 
tioned shall be made clear to thee." 

t Chap. viii. sss. + iii. 23. § See Gen. xv. 5, 1. 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 241 

Thus it is said, and he set me down in the midst 
of the valley ;* but it was, in the visions of God. 
And in that vision in which he was transported to 
Jerusalem, Ezekiel mentions a matter in this lan- 
guage :f and behold, a hole in the wall. Then 
said he unto me, son of man, dig now in the wall; 
and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door, 
and so forth. And as he perceived in visions that 
he was commanded to dig in the wall until he 
could enter and see what they were doing there, 
and he dug, (as it is mentioned) in the visions of 
God, J and entered by the hole, and saw what he 
saw ; all this was in prophetic vision. So also 
what is said to him, take thee a tile (or brick) and 
so forth ; and lie thou upon thy left side and so 
forth ; and take thou unto thee wheat and barley 
and so forth. And also what is said to him, and 
cause it (the razor,) to pass over on thy head and 
on thy beard :<§> all this was done in prophetic vis- 
ion. He appeared to do|| those actions which he 
was commanded to do. For it is inconsistent with 
the character of God, to suppose that he would 
make^f his prophets like foolish persons and drunk- 
ards, and command them to act like such, and 
like the insane. Besides the last command was 
at variance with the law ;** for (Ezekiel) was a 

* Ezek. xxxvii. 1. t viii. 7, 8, 9. $ v. 3. 

§ iv. 1, 4, 9 ; v. 1. || Lit, he saw that he did. 

T Lit., far be it from God to make. 

** The original here is very obscure. I have followed the Latin 
translation of Buxtorf. 



242 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 

priest, and bound to obey the two negative pre 
cepts respecting the corners of the beard and of 
the head.* Certainly it all took place in prophetic 
vision. And so also where it is said, as my ser- 
vant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot ;f 
this truly took place in visions of God. Persons 
of weak mind indeed do suppose, that in all this 
the prophet is relating that he was commanded to 
do thus, and that he did (so.) Thus he tells us, 
that he was commanded to dig in the wall which 
was on the mountain of the house,§ while at the 
same time he was in Babylonia. He states also 
that he dug ; as he says, and I dug in the wall : 
but he had before plainly declared that this was 
done in the visions of God. And, as it is said of 
Abraham, the word of the Lord came unto Abram 
in a vision, saying ; and it is said in that prophetic 
vision, and he brought him forth abroad, and said, 
look now toward heaven and number the stars ; — 
this manifestly took place in prophetic vision ; he 
seemed to be brought out from the place in which 
he was until he saw the heavens, and afterwards 
it was said to him, and number the stars, and he 
proceeded to number ; — this is as it appeared to 
him. And thus I say, in the matter which was 
commanded to Jeremiah,* that he should hide the 

• The author alludes to the precepts in Levit. xxi. 5, prohibiting 
the priests from " making baldness upon their head, and from shaving 
off the corner of their beard." 

t Isa. xx. 3. t That is of the temple. 

§ xiii. 4, 5, 6. 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 943 

girdle near the Euphrates, and that he hid it, and 
then after a long time went to look for it, and 
found that it had long been decayed and ruined ; 
all these are parabolical representations (or sym- 
bols,) and Jeremiah did not go out of the land of 
Israel to Babylonia, neither did he see the Eu- 
phrates. So also what is said to Hosea,* take 
unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of 
whoredoms, and that whole matter, the birth of 
the children and the calling of them by particular 
names ; all of it took place in prophetic vision. 
For after it has been explained that these are par- 
ables (or symbols,) no room is left for doubt that 
each has a real existence ; but as it is said of them, 
the vision of all is become unto them like the 
words of a book and so forth.t And thus it ap- 
pears to me, that the affair of Gideon with the 
fleece, and others of a similar kind, were indeed 
in vision. But I would not call it perfect pro- 
phetic vision ; for Gideon had not arrived at the 
grade of prophets, much less that of miracles, and 
his highest distinction^ was to have attained (to a 
degree) like the (other) judges of Israel : and hence 
it is that of old they§ reckoned him among the 
light men of the world, as we have shown. It 
all took place in a dream, like that of Laban and 
Abimelech, as we have already mentioned. And 



* i. 2. t Isa. xxix. 11. t Lit. , perfection. 

§ He means, the Rabbles, 



244 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 

so the discourse of Zechariah,* and I will feed 
the flock of slaughter and so forth, and the (whole) 
subject even to the end of it, (where) goin_ downt 
he seeks the price (or hire,) and receives it, and 
counts the silver, and casts it in the house of the 
potter ; all this he saw in prophetic vision : for the 
command to do it,{ and the act of obedience, oc- 
curred either in prophetic vision or prophetic 
dream. And this is a matter of which there can be 
no doubt, and none can misapprehend it, except 
such as confound possible things with impossible. 
From what I have said, a judgment may be 
formed respecting the cases which I have not ad- 
duced. All are of the same class and character, 
all are prophetic vision.^ And whatsoever may 
be said in that vision, that the individual did thus, 
or heard, or went out, or came in, or spoke, or 
was spoken to, or stood, or sat, or went up, or 



• xi. 12, 13. 

t The original is £"|PJ5D' which I suppose to be J^H!D w '^h the 
prefix. Buxiorf omits it entirely. 

X The Hebrew is, ^fc-nlE^^* Should it not be written with a 

y 

§ It is presumable, that the author intended this remark to be 
limited to cases similar to those before adduced by him. Doubtless 
there are very many instances of symbolical teaching, which cannot 
be explained on the principle laid down. The prophets often taught 
by real actions openly performed in the presence of the people, with 
a view to illustrate and impress the predicted declarations or warnings. 
In order to determine when the language is that of prophetic vision, 
and when it describes some sensible action, we must be acquainted 
with the usage of the prophets, and be guided by good sense and a 



NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 245 

came down, or walked in the way, or asked, or 
was asked : the whole is in prophetic vision. And 
although the things related may be detailed at 
length, and circumstances of time and persons 
connected with them may be indicated, and also 
of place ; (yet) after it has been plainly shown 
you that the action is parabolical, (or symbolical,) 
you may be fully confident* that it took place in 
prophetic vision. 

sound and religious discretion. It is very probable that some few of 
the cases adduced by Maimonides as illustrations of the former prin- 
ciple, admit of more satisfactory explanation by applying the latter 
* Lit., know thou true knowledge. 



c 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Jan. 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 807 333 6 % 






H 



